Iran Parts Pipeline Cracked: Four Face Federal Charges

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal grand jury has indicted four individuals – two Iranians and two Indonesians – on a sprawling 19-count indictment alleging a years-long conspiracy to illegally ship U.S.-origin aircraft parts to Iran. The scheme, prosecutors say, deliberately circumvented U.S. export laws and sanctions designed to cripple the Iranian regime’s ability to fund dangerous activities.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, G. Zachary Terwilliger, didn’t mince words. “The transshipment to Iran of desired United States goods facilitates our adversary’s ability to engage in malicious and dangerous activity against the United States,” he stated. “The charges against these four individuals represent the dismantling of an entire procurement network, from the brokers to the true end user. We will not tolerate individuals or business organizations that seek to harm our national security, no matter their role or where they are located in the world.”

The indictment names Sahebali Moulaei, 56, and Mohsen Faghihi, 54, both citizens of Iran, alongside Indonesian nationals Arnold Kaunang, 26, and Alfrets Kaunang, 55. They are accused of conspiring to export airplane parts to a state-owned enterprise within Iran, all without the necessary license from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The charges also include smuggling goods directly into Iran, a clear violation of federal law.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Raymond Duda laid out the stakes. “As the true end-user of this dual-use U.S. technology, Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics sought to undermine the national security of the United States by furthering their military and civilian capabilities,” Duda explained. The operation, allegedly running since August 2015, relied on a complex web of front companies and third-country routing to mask the ultimate destination of the parts. Faghihi, identified as a procurement agent for Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries Company, allegedly initiated purchase orders through Moulaei, the managing director of an Iranian procurement firm.

The Kaunangs, operating an Indonesian aircraft parts supply company, served as the crucial intermediary. They allegedly placed orders with numerous U.S. companies, effectively laundering the purchases to avoid direct scrutiny. Once the aircraft parts arrived in Indonesia, the Kaunangs arranged for their shipment to Moulaei in Iran. Payments flowed from a Malaysian company controlled by Moulaei, ultimately reaching Faghihi in Iran. This elaborate scheme allowed the illicit transfer of sensitive technology while obscuring the true beneficiaries.

Each of the four defendants faces a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each of the nine counts of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), and an additional 10 years for each of the nine smuggling counts. While maximum penalties are rarely imposed, a federal district court judge will determine the final sentence based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other relevant factors. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gordon D. Kromberg and Rachael C. Tucker are prosecuting the case. The investigation remains ongoing, and federal authorities vow to continue dismantling networks that threaten U.S. national security.