U.S. Prosecutors Charge Iranian with Attempting to Illegally Transfer Missile Components

Federal prosecutors in Chicago have charged a 56-year-old Iranian businessman with attempting to illegally export materials and components used in missile manufacturing to Iran. According to the Associated Press, federal prosecutors have accused Saeed Valadbeigi of trying to illegally transfer aluminum tubes, which are utilized in missile and aerospace industries, from Illinois through Belgium and Malaysia to Iran between 2011. The indictment presented to the court includes eight charges against Saeed Valadbeigi. The report states that Valadbeigi is currently a fugitive and is being pursued by U.S. authorities, who have not provided further details regarding his possible whereabouts. A warrant for his arrest was issued in 2016. The Associated Press states that this Iranian businessman has been charged with money transfer fraud and violating Iran sanctions. According to the Chicago Tribune, the charges against Valadbeigi are related to a case involving a Belgian businessman. Nicolas Kiga, the director of a Belgian company that collaborated with Iran, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison in 2015 for violating Iran sanctions by purchasing aluminum tubes and transferring them to Iran. Kiga was arrested in New York and tried in federal court in Chicago. Last month, U.S. federal prosecutors charged a woman in New Jersey for collaborating with a network smuggling aircraft parts from the U.S. to Iran. The Associated Press reported that this network had smuggled over two billion dollars worth of aircraft parts from the U.S. to Iran. An Iranian-Canadian citizen was also sentenced to 32 months in prison last December for attempting and planning to circumvent sanctions against Iran. In related news, 25 years of imprisonment was given to an Iranian-American for attempting to send missiles to Iran, and a Turkish banker was sentenced to 32 months in prison for violating Iran sanctions.