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Shafqat Rana, Export Scheme, Pennsylvania 2014
On March 31, 2014, a federal grand jury in Harrisburg unsealed an Indictment against Shafqat Rana, formerly of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and two corporations, Optima Plus International and Afro Asian International, charging them with smuggling technology out of the United States for use by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission.
Shafqat Rana, along with Abdul Qadeer Rana and Shahzad Rana, both of Lahore, Pakistan, allegedly used the corporations to export goods from the United States to Pakistan, shipping them through a common carrier in Dauphin County.
The Indictment alleges that Shafqat Rana took orders for ‘dual-use’ items from Afro Asian and acquired the items in the United States. After the items were shipped to Pakistan, they were resold to the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, an arm of the Pakistani Army, in violation of United States law.
The United States Department of Commerce has the authority to regulate the export of ‘dual-use’ items from the United States to foreign countries, as necessary, to protect, among other things, the national security and foreign policy of the United States. The regulations include the requirement of obtaining a license from DOC under certain circumstances before export from the United States.
The Indictment charges that the defendants shipped and exported goods from the United States to restricted end-users in Pakistan while providing false and fraudulent invoices to the freight forwarders, thereby causing the freight forwarders to fail to file the required export declarations.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office, Shafqat Rana has left the United States and returned to Pakistan.
The case was investigated by U.S. Department of Commerce criminal investigators and the Harrisburg office of the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Zubrod coordinated the grand jury investigation and has been assigned to prosecute the case.
Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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