Washington: A businessman from the United States of America has pleaded guilty to exporting products without a licence to atomic and space agencies in Pakistan, thus violating US federal laws.
A media report in Dawn News identified the accused as 43-year-old Imran Khan, who now faces up to 20 years in prison. Khan is scheduled to be sentenced in August 2017. He has been released on a $100,000 bond since he was arrested in December last year.
The report quoted US Attorney for the District of Connecticut Deirdre Daly as saying that Khan, a resident of North Haven, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty on Saturday in a Hartford federal court to violating US export law.
Khan and others were reportedly engaged in a scheme to purchase goods that were controlled under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and exported them without a licence to Pakistan, in violation of the EAR.
Khan conducted business as Brush Locker Tools or as Kauser Enterprises-USA.
When Khan was asked by US manufacturers about the end-user, he said that the product would either remain in the US or that he had completed an end-user certification indicating that the product would not be exported.
After the products were purchased, the report added, they were shipped by the manufacturer to Khan’s North Haven residence in Connecticut or to a business owned by him.
“The products were then shipped to Pakistan on behalf of either the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) or the National Institute of Lasers and Optronics (Nilop),” the US Justice Department said. All these organizations listed on the US Department of Commerce Entity List, it added.
The Justice Department said that Khan never obtained a license to export any item to the designated entity even though he knew that a license was required prior to export.
The report added that Khan pleaded guilty to one count of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Comments
0 comment