A federal jury in Florida recently convicted Brian Assi (aka Brahim Assi), a Canadian citizen, for his role in a conspiracy to export goods from the United States to Iran in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations. These laws prohibit, among other things, the export, reexport, sale, or supply of any goods, technology or services to Iran from the United States or a U.S. person, without first obtaining a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”). Assi, who was found guilty of Counts 1 through 5 of a five-count indictment, was also convicted for attempting to smuggle goods from the United States, submitting false or misleading export information, and conspiring to commit money laundering. He is currently scheduled to be sentenced on January 7, 2025.
According to evidence presented at trial, between January 2017 and July 2018, Assi conspired with employees and affiliates of Sakht Abzar Pars Co. (“SAP-Iran”), an Iranian engineering and commercial company, to sell the company two drill rigs manufactured by Assi’s employer at the time, without first obtaining an OFAC license. At the time of the sale, Assi worked as a sales manager of unnamed multinational heavy machinery manufacturer based in the Middle East that had a U.S.-based subsidiary and production plant located in northern Florida. Assi and his co-conspirators allegedly helped SAP-Iran acquire the drill rigs by having them shipped from his employer’s U.S.-based subsidiary to Turkey under the guise that their final destination was an Iraqi-based distributor. Federal prosecutors were able to demonstrate that, in furtherance of the scheme, Assi misled his employer by claiming that the drills’ final delivery destination was Iraq and caused false information regarding the ultimate destination to be entered into the U.S. government’s export database. Assi and his co-conspirators also allegedly caused approximately $2.7 million to be transferred from Turkey through the U.S. financial system, as part of the scheme.
DOJ Press Release | Indictment | Docket Minute Entry- Jury Verdict