US charges Canadian national in plot to export lab equipment to Iran

A federal grand jury has indicted a Canadian citizen on charges of illegally exporting laboratory equipment to Iran, the US Justice Department said.

"A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment today charging a Canadian national with the unlawful export of laboratory equipment from the United States to Iran, through Canada and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)," the Justice Department said in a statement on Friday.

Reza Sarhangpour Kafrani, an Iranian national living in Montreal, was indicted on one count of conspiracy, two counts of violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), one count of causing a failure to submit export information and six counts of money laundering, the statement said.

The Justice Department said Kafrani and a co-conspirator managed to purchase three mass spectrometers and an autosampler from a US-based company and shipped it to their business based in Canada, Prolife Global Ltd. From there, they conspired to have it shipped to the UAE and then Iran.

The exportation of scientific laboratory equipment such as that purchased by Kafrani are controlled for nuclear nonproliferation reasons, requiring licenses to be shipped from the United States. The US Commerce Department requires a license to export such items to the UAE and the Treasury Department requires a different licence to export to Iran.

Kafrani faces up to five years in prison for the charges of conspiracy and failing to submit export information, as well as up to 20 years for money laundering charges and violations of the IEEPA. The charges may also carry additional financial penalties, according to the statement. (ANI/Sputnik)

( With inputs from ANI )