The U.S. government asked Argentina on Tuesday to seize a Venezuelan Boeing 737-300 freighter with links to Iran for violation of export control laws.
The plane has been held by Argentine authorities since it landed in Buenos Aires in early June because of U.S. sanctions and concerns about potential espionage, news wires previously reported. Argentine officials are trying to determine what to do with the cargo plane loaded with automotive parts and an unusually large crew of 17, including at least five Iranians.
A warrant unsealed in a federal district court alleges Mahan Air, an Iranian airline alleged to be affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, transferred the aircraft without authorization to Emtrasur Cargo, a subsidiary of a Venezuelan state-owned company.
Iran and Venezuela, which are both under U.S. sanctions, have close ties. The U.S. defines the Revolutionary Guard as a foreign terrorist organization.
Mahan Air has been denied since 2008 from exporting any U.S.-made commodity subject to security-related export regulations. Flying the aircraft across Iran’s border is prohibited under the sanctions. The warrant alleges that Mahan Air violated U.S. law when it sold the plane to Emtrasur Cargo last October. The companies further violated the denial order between February and March when Emtrasur flew the plane between Caracas, Venezuela; Tehran; and Moscow without U.S. permission, according to a Justice Department news release.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security also issued an order suspending Emrasur’s export privileges for 180 days for acquiring custody of a U.S.-origin Boeing 747 aircraft from Mahan Air in violation of U.S. export controls and flying it to Iran and Russia.
Anyone providing refueling, maintenance, repair, or spare parts or services to a sanctioned aircraft could be subject to U.S. enforcement too.
The registered captain of the aircraft detained in Argentina was identified as an ex-commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and a shareholder and member of the board of Iranian airline Qeshm Fars Air, the Justice Department said.
Argentinian law enforcement also found a Mahan Air flight log documenting the aircraft’s flight activity.
Mahan Air has been under U.S. sanctions since 2011 for supporting Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards. Qeshm Fars Air was designated for sanctions in 2019 for being controlled by Mahan Air and supporting the Quds Force.
Emtrasur’s parent company was designated by OFAC in 2020 for assisting targeted regimes involved in terrorism and other activities that threaten U.S. national security.
“The seizure of this aircraft demonstrates our determination to hold accountable those who seek to violate U.S. sanctions and export control laws,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves for the District of Columbia. “We will aggressively seek to prevent sanctioned entities from gaining access to America-made items or profiting from their illegal transfer. Working with our federal and international partners, we will be unflagging in our efforts to bring to justice those who violate those sanctions and to seize assets where appropriate and lawful.”
The 36-year-old Emtrasur 747-300 is one of 21 combination passenger-cargo versions made by Boeing. Overall, the 747-300 did not sell well compared with other variants because it was more expensive and didn’t have many upgrades, according to Simple Flying.
The FBI, Department of Commerce, and Bureau of Industry and Security are also involved in the investigation.
Enforcement of Russia sanctions
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Industry and Security also added 25 Airbus aircraft to its list of aircraft that have been flown into Russia or Belarus in violation of sanctions applied in March over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. BIS has identified 183 aircraft that have apparently violated U.S. export controls. Tuesday’s action was the first time foreign-produced aircraft have been added to the watch list.
BIS said it has identified aircraft subject to export administration regulations flying from third countries to Russia and Belarus since April 8. In addition to U.S.-origin aircraft, foreign-made aircraft that exceed 25% U.S.-origin content are also subject to the export control regime.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
RELATED NEWS:
US targets Russian cargo airline Aviastar over sanctions violations