Reza Sarhangpour Kafrani, Conspiracy, District of Columbia 2015

A 46-year-old Iranian national residing in Montreal, Canada, has been accused of violating international sanctions by illegally exporting laboratory equipment to Iran through Canada and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Reza Sarhangpour Kafrani, aka Reza Sarhang, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on multiple charges, including one count of conspiracy, two counts of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), one count of causing a failure to submit export information, and six counts of money laundering.

The indictment alleges that Kafrani and a co-conspirator co-owned Prolife Global, Ltd., a Canadian company that conducted business in the United States and elsewhere. In November 2015, Kafrani began negotiating with a U.S. company to purchase mass spectrometry equipment for import to Canada.

However, Kafrani was unable to purchase the equipment from this company after a representative informed him that there were sanctions in place for Iran. He then began negotiating with a second U.S. company for the purchase of similar mass spectrometry equipment in March 2016, ultimately purchasing three mass spectrometers and an autosampler for approximately $110,739.

The indictment also alleges that Kafrani and his co-conspirator applied for export licenses from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Nov. 16, 2015, and again on April 23, 2016, but both applications were declined. The equipment was then shipped to the UAE and eventually reexported to Iran on multiple occasions.

Kafrani is accused of causing the second U.S. company to fail to file the required electronic export information and of making six separate money transfers to promote the unlawful exports. The indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation seeking all proceeds of the alleged crimes.

Kafrani will be arraigned on the charges on a date to be determined by the court.

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