Amin Mahdavi, Criminal Conspiracy, District of Columbia 2023

Amin Mahdavi, a 53-year-old Iranian national living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Parthia Cargo LLC, a freight forwarding company located in the UAE, were charged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia with participating in a criminal conspiracy to violate U.S. export laws and sanctions against Iran.

“Iran evades the U.S. embargo resulting from their malicious activities with the collaboration of those who pose as innocent buyers, but who are ready to send the products on to their forbidden destination,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers. “These charges against Parthia Cargo LLC and its managing director should put on notice all freight forwarders and others who facilitate illicit transshipments to Iran that their conduct will not be tolerated.”

“We will not abide individuals or business organizations that seek to harm our national security by providing coveted U.S. goods to Iran, and we will pursue these wrongdoers no matter where they are located in the world,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin for the District of Columbia.

Amin Mahdavi and Parthia Cargo LLC were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiring to defraud the United States and to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSRs).

The affidavit in support of the criminal complaint alleges that Mahdavi was the Managing Director of Parthia Cargo LLC, a business organization that facilitated the illegal shipment to Iran of goods manufactured in the United States. Mahdavi acknowledged to U.S. government officials in 2017 that he understood a U.S. government license was necessary to lawfully ship U.S. commercial aircraft parts to Iran. But Mahdavi nonetheless agreed to help ship a U.S.-origin commercial aircraft part to an Iranian air transport company, utilizing the freight forwarding services of Parthia Cargo LLC and without obtaining a license.

If convicted, Amin Mahdavi would face up to five years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000, and Parthia Cargo LLC would face a fine of up to $500,000.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the BIS’s Boston Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Friedman and National Security Division Trial Attorney Jennifer Kennedy Gellie are representing the government in this matter.

The charges were announced on March 30, 2023.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/iranian-national-and-uae-business-organization-charged-criminal-conspiracy-violate-iranian