Pennsylvania Company Fined $470,000 for Export Violations
12/10/07 03:22 PM Filed in: Export
| Enforcement
On
December 7, 2007, the Bureau of Industry and
Security (BIS) announced that
Mine Safety Appliances Company (MSA) of
Pittsburgh, PA agreed to pay a $470,000 civil
penalty. The settlement arose from allegations
that MSA, through its branch office in Abu
Dhabi, MSA Middle East, violated the Export
Administration Regulations (EAR) on 107
occasions. The allegations relate to the
reexport of safety equipment from the UAE to
Iran and Syria without the required export
licenses.
"Preventing the diversion of U.S.- origin goods so that they do not support the economies of countries that sponsor terrorism, such as Syria and Iran, is extremely important," said Darryl Jackson, assistant secretary of commerce for export enforcement. "This case demonstrates that companies must take extra care when implementing compliance programs with foreign subsidiaries.”
BIS alleged that between May 2001 and December 2005, MSA Middle East made 107 reexports of EAR99 and controlled items, including helmets, gas masks, detection equipment, filters, and other safety equipment to Iran and Syria from the UAE without required export licenses.
BIS stated that MSA voluntarily disclosed these violations to BIS and cooperated fully in the investigation, which was a mitigation factor in calculating the penalty. In addition, MSA received mitigation credit for its compliance efforts.
BIS stated:
"Preventing the diversion of U.S.- origin goods so that they do not support the economies of countries that sponsor terrorism, such as Syria and Iran, is extremely important," said Darryl Jackson, assistant secretary of commerce for export enforcement. "This case demonstrates that companies must take extra care when implementing compliance programs with foreign subsidiaries.”
BIS alleged that between May 2001 and December 2005, MSA Middle East made 107 reexports of EAR99 and controlled items, including helmets, gas masks, detection equipment, filters, and other safety equipment to Iran and Syria from the UAE without required export licenses.
BIS stated that MSA voluntarily disclosed these violations to BIS and cooperated fully in the investigation, which was a mitigation factor in calculating the penalty. In addition, MSA received mitigation credit for its compliance efforts.
BIS stated:
Parties who may have been involved in violations of the EAR are encouraged to submit a Voluntary Self Disclosure (VSD) to BIS’s Office of Export Enforcement, as provided in Part 764.5 of the EAR. VSDs are an important indicator of parties’ intent to bring themselves into compliance with the EAR, and may provide BIS important information on illicit proliferation networks. A VSD is considered a “great weight” mitigating factor in the settlement of BIS administrative cases.