Four companies and five individuals have been charged with violating U.S. sanctions on Iran just as officials are trying to persuade the Iranian regime to curb its nuclear program, CNN reported.
The companies charged in a 24-count U.S. indictment, which was unsealed on Friday, are Houston-based Smart Power Systems Inc., Hosoda Taiwan Limited Corporation, Golsad Istanbul Trading Ltd. and and the Faratel Corporation in Iran.
The indictment charges that the companies and people involved facilitated the illegal export to Iran of technology that is commonly used in military systems.
They include high-tech microelectronics, uninterruptible power supplies and other goods in violation of U.S. law.
The companies charged in the U.S. indictment are Houston-based Smart Power Systems Inc., Hosoda Taiwan Limited Corporation, Golsad Istanbul Trading Ltd. and the Faratel Corporation in Iran.
The people named in the indictment who are in the United States were Bahram Mechanic and Tooraj Faridi, both of Houston, and Khosrow Afghahi of Los Angeles.
Afghahi and Bahram Mechanic, 69, of Houston together own Iran-based Faratel and its Texas-based sister company, Smart Power Systems, according to the FBI.
The companies design and build uninterruptible power supplies for various Iranian entities, the FBI reports, including the Iranian Ministry of Defense, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and the Iranian Centrifuge Technology Company.
The five men charged in the case now each face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of illegally exporting the goods, with additional prison terms possible for money laundering charges. The companies involved face fines of up to $1 million for each violation of the International Emergency Powers Act.