- Four individuals have been charged and had arrest warrants issued for them by the Department of Justice over alleged smuggling of US electronics
- An indictment alleges that the defendants used front companies in China to funnel the items that could be used to produce UAVs and missile systems
- According to Department of Justice, the group did so for the benefit of those affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Four Chinese nationals have been charged with crimes relating to the smuggling of US made electronic components, including parts for military use, to Iran.
Baoxia Liu, aka Emily Liu, Yiu Wa Yung, aka Stephen Yung, Yongxin Li, aka Emma Lee, and Yanlai Zhong, aka Sydney Chung, are alleged to have smuggled the controlled items through China.
According to Department of Justice, the group did so for the benefit of those affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The four individuals are charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), and of submitting false export information.
According to an indictment the items smuggled could be used to produce UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicle), ballistic missile systems, and other military uses.
The indictment comes as China’s relationship with Iran faces increased scrutiny after strikes on US bases in the Middle East.
The indictment says that as early as May 2007 and continuing until at least July 2020, they used front companies in China to funnel the electronics and components.
These items then made there way to sanctioned Iranian entities with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Other groups that allegedly benefited include the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).
The DOJ said that the defendants concealed the fact the goods were destined for Iran and made material misrepresents to companies in the US regarding their final destination.
The Department of Justice said that if convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for violating IEEPA.
They also face ten years for smuggling goods from the US, and a further five years for each count of submitting false export information.
Arrest warrants have been issued for the defendants who at this time are fugitives.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division said: ‘For more than a decade, the defendants allegedly orchestrated a scheme to smuggle U.S. manufactured parts to the IRGC and the Iranian agency charged with developing ballistic missiles and UAVs.
‘Such efforts to unlawfully obtain U.S. technology directly threaten our national security, and we will use every tool at our disposal to sever the illicit supply chains that fuel the Iranian regime’s malign activity.’
U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia said: ‘Our indictment alleges a years-long, complex conspiracy to violate U.S. laws by procuring U.S. technology with military uses for entities in Iran who would do us harm – a serious offense that endangers our national security.
‘Our office, along with our federal law enforcement partners, will continue to turn over every stone to find those who break our laws and put us at risk.
‘We are committed to making sure that U.S. technology is kept out of the hands of those taking aim at the United States and its citizens through robust enforcement of U.S. sanctions.’
It comes after a dire warning from Congress last year revealed that the US has very little knowledge of how deep China’s network of espionage is through the nation.
Members of the bipartisan House China Select Committee released a memo detailing how the U.S. has failed to combat Beijing’s infiltration – and it could get worse.
The threat comes from the united front, a political strategy Xi Jinping has called his ‘magic weapon’.
It’s the plan the CCP uses to influence beyond its circle without the information appearing to come directly from the Chinese government.
China spends billions on the united front system each year. United front is affiliated with some 600 groups in the U.S., according to a 2020 Newsweek report, that are all in regular touch with the CCP.
‘United front work damages U.S. interests through legal and illegal technology transfer, surveillance of Chinese diaspora communities, promotion of favorable narratives about the PRC through ostensibly independent voices, and the neutralization or harassment of critics of the CCP,’ the new report found.
‘The United States has no direct analogue, and the U.S. Government has struggled to counter united front work with traditional counterintelligence, law enforcement, and diplomatic tools,’ it warned.
The background memo is meant to guide Americans to remain vigilant if they are targeted by China’s influence operations.
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Joe Hutchison
