DTN News: Iranian Pleads Guilty In Illegal Exports Sting

DTN News: Iranian Pleads Guilty In Illegal Exports Sting Source: DTN News / AFP

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - June 18, 2010: An Iranian national has pleaded guilty to charges of attempting to illegally export US fighter jet parts to Iran, which he purchased from a US undercover agent, the Department of Justice has said.

Omid Khalili was charged in January along with a co-conspirator still at large identified only as Masun. He was arrested in March on arrival in Miami -- presumably from Iran -- and pleaded guilty in a US District Court in Alabama. For his nine-count indictment on conspiracy, money laundering, smuggling and violations of US laws banning sensitive exports to Iran, Khalili faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a one million dollar fine if convicted, the Justice Department said. According to court documents, Khalili and Masun, while "actively working with the Iranian government to procure military items," last year paid the undercover agent more than 70,000 dollars as a downpayment for military aircraft "parts to be shipped to Iran." The parts were for an aircraft sold to Iran before the 1979 Iranian revolution which is currently only in service with Iran's Air Force, the Justice Department said, apparently referring to the F-14 Tomcat. Designated as "defense articles," the parts are on a US list of items banned for export without a license from both the State and Treasury Departments due to the US trade embargo on Iran. "The defendants had not obtained the required US government export licenses for such exports," the Justice Department said.

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DTN News: Balli Unit Settles With US Over 747 Export To Iran

DTN News: Balli Unit Settles With US Over 747 Export To Iran *Source: DTN News / Reuters (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON, - February 5, 2010: A unit of Britain's Balli Group Plc pleaded guilty on Friday in a U.S. court to charges it illegally exported Boeing Co (BA.N) 747 aircraft from the United States to Iran, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday. The unit, Balli Aviation Ltd, agreed to pay a $2 million criminal fine and be placed on corporate probation for five years, the Justice Department said in a statement. Balli Aviation and its parent also agreed to pay $15 million in civil penalties in settlements with the U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments, although $2 million could be waived if there are no further export control violations. The company was accused of violating a U.S. embargo on Iran without first obtaining the required export license or authorization from the U.S. government, the papers said. "These charges reflect the commitment of the United States to vigorously enforce our laws against corporations that illegally seek to acquire U.S. aircraft from the U.S. on behalf of Iranian customers," Channing Phillips, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a statement. At issue were six Boeing 747 jumbo passenger jets the company's subsidiaries and affiliates owned, three of which were leased to an Armenian airline that made them available to an Iranian private airline, Mahan Air, for flights in and out of Tehran. The other three aircraft were not put into service. "The U.S. authorities viewed Mahan's involvement and the manner of its access to the capacity of the aircraft, as well as some of the steps taken by Balli Aviation to recover the aircraft and mitigate damages, to have breached U.S. export rules," Balli Aviation said in a statement. The United States has strict restrictions on exports to Iran, in part because of concerns that goods could also be used for military purposes. The two countries have been at loggerheads for years. The case is 09-cr-00366 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. (Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky; editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Andre Grenon)

DTN News: India Protests Pakistani Dam in Disputed Region

DTN News: India Protests Pakistani Dam in Disputed Region *Source: DTN News/ Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) BANGKOK, Thailand - September 13, 2009: The Indian government has lodged a protest against Pakistan over its plans to build a dam in the disputed region of Kashmir, with the help of China. India's foreign ministry said Friday the dam is being built in part of the Himalayan valley that is "illegally" occupied by Pakistan. Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but claimed by both. Last month, Pakistan and China signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of the Bunji hydroelectric project, which is aimed at generating electricity for Pakistan. The country is dealing with power shortages. The project has caused concern in India over Pakistan's growing ties with China.Friday, Pakistan summoned an official with the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to reject the India's protest of the dam. The Deputy High Commissioner of India in Islamabad was called to the Foreign Office on Friday and Indian protest on Gilgit-Baltistan self-rule order was rejected. The Foreign Office Director General (South Asia) emphasised that Pakistan rejects the Indian protest as the Government of India has no locus standi in the matter. A Press release issued by the Foreign Office stated that the Government of Pakistan also rejects the Indian claim that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. “Pakistan’s position on Jammu and Kashmir dispute is based on relevant UN resolutions.” Two protest notes were handed over to the High Commission for Pakistan in New Delhi on Friday by the Ministry of External Affairs of India, on the Gilgit-Baltistan (Empowerment and Self-Governance Order, 2009); and construction of Bunji Dam in Astore District. Monitoring Desk adds: The Indian Government on Friday summoned the Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan Riffat Masood and registered its protest against the Government of Pakistan’s so-called Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order -2009 and its move to construct the Bunji Hydroelectric Project, reported Indian media. Insofar as the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order-2009 was concerned, the Indian government charged Pakistan with denying basic democratic rights to the people in those parts of the state of Jammu and Kashmir under its illegal occupation for the past six decades. New Delhi told the Pakistani envoy that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India by virtue of its accession in 1947.A government spokesman described the so-called Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order-2009 was yet another cosmetic exercise intended to camouflage Pakistan’s illegal occupation of the region. The Indian Government also lodged a protest on Friday over the proposed construction of the Bunji Hydroelectric Project. The 7000-megawatt dam is being constructed at Bunji in the Astore District of the Gilgit-Baltistan area with the help of China.

DTN News: WTO Rules European Subsidies Given To Airbus Were Illegal

DTN News: WTO Rules European Subsidies Given To Airbus Were Illegal *The World Trade Organisation is understood to have ruled that subsidies provided by European countries for Airbus’s A380 superjumbo were illegal.

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) BRUSSELS, Belgium - September 5, 2009: The World Trade Organisation has ruled that Europe's Airbus benefited from illegal subsidies, US and European officials said Friday. Airbus, which also made the A350, pictured, received 'launch aid' from European countries for the A380. A US lawmaker and European sources confirmed some of the main contents of the decision which comes amid a bitter battle with Airbus's US rival Boeing, but which was not publicly released. But European sources said the interim WTO ruling indicated that the US complaint against Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co., was only partially upheld by the global trade watchdog. "For many years we have contended that direct financial assistance from the European governmental partners of EADS/Airbus has represented an unfair launch subsidy that has allowed Airbus to increase its market share in the large civil aircraft market and to steal US aircraft manufacturing jobs," said US Representative Norm Dicks. "Today's interim ruling from the WTO panel definitively confirms that contention, which was the basis for the WTO complaint filed by the US Trade Representative filed in October 2004," said Dicks, a Democratic lawmaker from Washington state, where a key part of Boeing's manufacturing operations are based. Dicks said "all Airbus aircraft have received illegal subsidies and that these have caused material harm to Boeing". The WTO verdict was contained in a report of around 1,000 pages, with hard copies only going to EU governments and the US government. A European source confirmed to AFP in Brussels that "some elements" of the original US complaint to the WTO on the matter were upheld by the Geneva-based global trade body. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday from Brussels that the WTO concluded that every launch-aid package given to Airbus for the development of its A380 double-decker long-range airliner was an illegal subsidy. But, rebutting part of the Journal report, the European source added that funds extended to Airbus for the A380 "were not considered illegal in their totality". "The EU launch aid has not been considered as a (support) programme," the source added, referring to a key part of the dispute. Boeing executives said before the ruling that they hoped it would stifle future state aid for Airbus, particularly for the planned A350 airliner, for which France, Germany and Britain have already pledged about 2.9 billion euros (4.2 billion dollars) in launch loans. Another European source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "From our reading of this report 70 percent of the US claims have been rejected." However, government grants were ruled illegal, he added. "That'll have an impact for the next case," the source claimed. Another WTO ruling is pending on the EU's tit-for-tat complaint against Washington over US state aid to Boeing, which is being dealt with by the Geneva-based trade body separately. The WTO does not publish or comment on interim rulings, which are only issued to each side in the case on a confidential basis. US and EU trade officials declined comment. In the case brought against the EU in October 2004, Washington charged that it illegally provided subsidies to Airbus. It said an accord that allowed Brussels to provide up to a third of development costs of new airliners was no longer valid since Airbus is now a major industry player and not the fledgling firm when the deal was struck. While Airbus and Boeing are implicated in the case, the WTO only deals in cases brought by its member states and not individual companies. The cases are some of the most complex to reach the international trade watchdog in Geneva. Some analysts said a clear-cut judgment was unlikely given the complexity of the EU-US disputes over their flagship plane makers.

DTN News: Singapore TODAY August 29, 2009 ~ Five Men Arrested For Illegal Loanshark Activities

DTN News: Singapore TODAY August 29, 2009 ~ Five Men Arrested For Illegal Loanshark Activities

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) SINGAPORE - August 29, 2009: Five men, aged between 23 and 36, were arrested for loanshark activities in a police operation on Thursday evening. They are believed to be members of a syndicate with more than 130 cases of loanshark harassment incidents islandwide. This is also the tenth loanshark syndicate crippled by the police this year. In the operation conducted by officers from the Criminal Investigation Department, various premises in Hougang, Tampines, Upper Bukit Timah, Woodlands and Punggol were raided. In the course of the raids, items including mobile phones, ATM cards and cash of about S$8,000 were seized. The syndicate was found to have used electronic means to issue loans and collect repayments from debtors.