The US Department of Justice (DOJ) says it has filed charges against an Indonesian businessman and three Indonesian companies in a US District Court for the District of Columbia for allegedly violating United States sanctions against Iran by exporting US-origin goods to Mahan Air (W5, Tehran Mehrabad).
The eight-count indictment, filed on December 17, charged former Garuda Indonesia (GA, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) managing director Sunarko Kuntjoro, 68, and aircraft parts supplier MS Aero Support, construction company Kandiyasa Energi Utama, and energy support firm Antasena Kreasi with conspiracy to unlawfully export US goods and technology to Iran and defraud the United States, a DOJ statement said.
Kuntjoro and MS Aero Support also face charges of unlawful export and attempted export to an embargoed country, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, and false statements.
As set forth in the indictment, the US-origin goods were allegedly destined for Mahan Air, and “the defendants conspired to make a financial profit for themselves and other conspirators, and to evade export regulations,” the statement explained. Their actions ran counter to US federal laws such as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, and the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations.
The United States Treasury Department listed Mahan Air under the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations on October 12, 2011, for allegedly providing financial, material, and technological support to the Quds Force, a unit in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard.
According to the indictment, between March 2011 and July 2018, Kuntjoro, the majority owner and president director of MS Aero Support, conspired with Mustafa Oveici, an Iranian executive at Mahan Air, and an unnamed American individual and company to transport goods owned by the carrier via the three Indonesian firms to the United States for repair and then re-export to Mahan in Iran and elsewhere.
This was done without obtaining valid licenses from the Treasury Department or the United States Department of Commerce, the statement said.
Any sentencing would be determined by a judge, the statement clarified, but added that Kuntjoro faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a USD1 million fine for each charge of violating the IEEPA; 20 years and a USD500,000 fine for money laundering; five years and a USD250,000 fine for defrauding the US government; and five years and a USD250,000 fine for false statements.
The investigation was conducted by special agents from the United States Department of Commerce, the Bureau of Industry and Security, the Office of Export Enforcement, and Homeland Security agents in San Diego and Miami.
