By Jonathan Stempel and Nate Raymond
NEW YORK, Dec 5 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors unveiled
criminal charges on Wednesday against four defendants accused of
illegally exporting goods to Iran and China, including carbon
fiber, which can be used to enrich uranium.
The charges were announced by the U.S. Department of
Justice, the FBI and other investigators, as federal authorities
try to stop the export of technology and goods that could be put
to military use in other countries.
Hamid Reza Hashemi, a 52-year-old dual U.S. and Iranian
citizen, and Murat Taskiran, a Turkish citizen, were charged
over alleged efforts to export carbon fiber to Hashemi's company
in Tehran, including through a European intermediary.
Peter Gromacki, 48, a U.S. citizen living in Orange County,
New York, was accused in a second indictment of arranging the
export of more than 6,600 lbs (roughly 3,000 kg) of carbon fiber
to Belgium, which was later shipped by a third party to China.
A fourth defendant, Amir Abbas Tamimi, a 40-year-old Iranian
citizen, was accused in a third indictment of attempting to
arrange the export to Iran of parts for a helicopter that could
be used for military purposes, including reconnaissance and as a
military platform.
Lawyers for Hashemi, Gromacki and Tamimi did not immediately
respond to requests for comment. A lawyer for Taskiran could not
immediately be located.
Each defendant was charged with violating the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act and conspiracy to violate that
law. Authorities said enforcing that law is vital to protecting
U.S. national security.
"Carbon fiber in the wrong hands poses a serious threat to
that security," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.
"Two of these defendants are charged with arranging its export
to Iran, where it most assuredly had the potential to end up in
the wrong hands."
Prosecutors said Tamimi was arrested on Oct. 5 and Hashemi
on Dec. 1 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York,
while Gromacki was arrested on Wednesday at his home.
These three defendants were subsequently arraigned and are
in U.S. custody. Hashemi faces a maximum of 60 years in prison,
Tamimi and Taskiran 40 years each, and Gromacki 30 years,
according to prosecutors.
The cases are U.S. v. Hashemi et al, U.S. District Court,
Southern District of New York, No. 12-cr-00804; U.S. v. Gromacki
in the same court, No. 12-cr-00302; and U.S. v. Tamimi in the
same court, No. 12-cr-00615.
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