Sun Microsystems reaches settlement on export violations
The U.S. Department of Commerce fined Sun Microsystems, a major California computer manufacturer, and related companies $291,000 for violating export restrictions on dual use technology shipped to military customers in China and Egypt.
The department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) charged that Sun exported a large server to the Changsha Institute of Science and Technology, a military facility specializing in missile and rocket research and development, without the required license. The two subsidiaries are barred for one year from doing business with Changsha.
A fourth company, Hong Kong-based Automated Systems Ltd., will pay a $22,000 civil penalty to settle allegations that it aided and abetted the export to the China.
BIS also charged Sun Microsystems of knowingly shipping two servers to the Egyptian Army in December 1997.
The settlement of the two cases covered 24 charges, including four charges for illegal exports to military end-users, failing to file shipping documents as required by eight licenses, and altering an end-user verification certificate and submitting the falsified certificate in response to a subpoena.