A 40-year-old Taiwanese has been charged with illegally smuggling US-made military items to Iran for use in its missile program.
Chen Yi-lan, also known as Kevin Chen, was arrested in Guam and is now on his way to Miami, Florida, for trial.
If convicted, he could be jailed for 20 years and fined US$1 million.
It is alleged that Chen shipped the items — P200 turbine engines, MIL-S-8516 sealing compound, glass-to-metal pin seals and circular hermetic connectors — to Taiwan and Hong Kong from where they were sent on to Iran.
All of the items involved are known as “dual use” goods because they can also be used to build missiles and military drones — the pilotless aircraft increasingly employed in non-conventional warfare.
US Attorney Jeffrey Sloman said: “Iran has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism and remains subject to US, United Nations and European Union economic sanctions and export controls because of its continued involvement in terrorism and its nuclear weapons ambitions. The dual use items allegedly exported in this case could easily be used in missile development and other military components.”
Anthony Mangione, special agent in charge of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said: “This case will send a message to those individuals who attempt to profit by illegally supplying improper dual-use technology to other countries.”
Chen first fell under suspicion when he failed to fully complete forms that should have named the end-user for detonators he wanted to export through a California company.
An investigation is alleged to have shown that Chen’s customers were not in Taiwan and Hong Kong but were in fact known front companies that acquire Western technology for Iran’s missile program.
P200 turbine engines are designed for use as model airplane engines but can also be used to operate unmanned aerial vehicles such as military drones.
MIL-S-8516 sealing compound is used for sealing low-voltage electrical connectors against moisture and corrosion and is designed to military specifications with numerous applications in weapons manufacture.
Glass-to-metal pin seals are used in thermal imaging devices and weapons systems and the circular hermetic connectors were built to military specifications for use in “defense, industrial and petrochemical applications.”
The complaint affidavit said: “Customers in Iran sent orders to Chen for specific US-manufactured goods. Chen then requested quotes, usually by e-mail from US businesses and made arrangements for the sale and shipment of the goods to one of several freight forwarders in Hong Kong and Taiwan.”
“Once in Hong Kong or Taiwan, the goods were then shipped to Iran,” the affidavit said.
No other details were given, but a statement released on Thursday by the US Justice Department said: “Chen was arrested in Guam on the outstanding arrest warrant from the Southern District of Florida.”
“This morning, Chen appeared before a Magistrate Judge in Guam for his initial appearance. At the initial appearance, Chen waived removal, was taken into custody and was ordered to appear in the Southern District of Florida,” it added.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
RSS