Businessman guilty of Iran trade violations

[DoYouEverWonder]

May 20, 2006

A businessman from Singapore was convicted of diverting parts of U.S. military and civilian aircraft to Iran in violation of a wide-ranging trade embargo the United States has with the Middle Eastern country.

Ernest Koh Chong Tek, 44, who defended himself during the trial in federal court in Brooklyn, was found guilty late Thursday of obtaining U.S. aircraft parts and diverting them to Malaysia for secret shipping to Iran, officials said. He was also convicted of money laundering, they said.

Since 1995, the United States has imposed an embargo on most products to Iran, except for some limited humanitarian aid, said Michael Turner, director of export enforcement for the Department of Commerce. Anyone trying to trade with Iran must get permission from a special unit of the Treasury Department, he explained.

Turner said that the embargo is designed to get Iran to not only stop supporting terrorism, but also to persuade it to stop trying to develop nuclear weapons. He said officials also don't want military-grade parts sent to Iran, which it could then divert to other unauthorized users.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/am-air0520,0,6809925.story?coll=ny-nycnews-headlines

[meow2u3]

1. For a sec, I thought it was Dick Cheney

I'm disappointed it was just a guy from Singapore. Too bad.