Businessman arrested in the US for transferring technology to Iran

According to the Department of Justice, Ghomi was arrested in California and charged at the federal level with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, known by its acronym in English, IEEPA. The legislation supports part of the current US sanctions against Iran and prohibits the shipment of certain products and technologies to the country without authorization from the US government.

According to American authorities, Ghomi acquired sophisticated network, security and encryption equipment of American origin for Iranian clients, including the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and military entities sanctioned by Washington.

“Ghomi became wealthy by providing U.S. technology to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and other sanctioned entities responsible for Iran’s nuclear program,” said John A. Eisenberg, U.S. Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

The Justice Department said that for more than a decade Ghomi used his Tehran company to buy American networking equipment without authorization from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the body responsible for enforcing economic sanctions.

According to the complaint, between 2011 and 2015, Ghomi used his own accounts on the eBay and PayPal platforms to make more than 400 purchases of network equipment. The products were sent to intermediaries in the United Arab Emirates and then sent to Iran.

Authorities also claim that, between 2014 and 2018, the businessman organized the clandestine shipment of more than 250 tons of network equipment to Iranian territory. According to the Department of Justice, the operation used front companies and transport agents in Dubai to hide that the final destination of the products was Iran.

According to the accusation, Ghomi knew that the operation was illegal and took measures to hide his participation in the schemes. The complaint states that he instructed accomplices in the United Arab Emirates to remove his name from transport documents, omit invoices and, on at least two occasions, hide equipment of American origin inside larger loads.

The Department of Justice says that Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh had annual sales of more than US$10 million (R$50.7 million, at the most recent quote) and served hundreds of Iranian companies and government entities, many of them subject to US sanctions. A smaller part, but considered relevant by the authorities, would have been destined for the regime’s nuclear and military apparatus.

Between 2017 and 2023, according to the complaint, the company supplied American equipment to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the agency responsible for the country’s nuclear program, including activities linked to centrifuges and uranium enrichment. The entity was sanctioned by the State Department in 2020.

The complaint also states that, between 2014 and 2022, the company provided networking, security and encryption equipment to the Iranian Ministry of Defense and Logistics of the Armed Forces and military and defense electronics entities associated with the agency.

According to the Department of Justice, Ghomi is also accused of laundering more than US$15 million (R$76 million) from Iran to bank accounts in the United States and to an account used in the construction of a mansion in Newport Beach, California. The agency claims that he falsely declared these resources to the US Treasury as foreign inheritance.

American prosecutors say they will seek to seize the businessman’s assets, including the mansion valued at US$35 million (R$177 million) in Newport Beach. According to the indictment, part of the construction of the property was financed with resources from the sanctions violation scheme. Ghomi must appear in US Federal Court in Santa Ana, California. If convicted, he could receive a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.