Lethal Technology Making Way From U.S. to Iran Via Front Companies

In connection with a series of export control case studies issued by the Washington, DC-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), today's Washington Post reports on the various networks used by Iran and Pakistan to obtain U.S. and European products via front companies.

The article notes that "many of the schemes unknowingly involve U.S. companies that typically have no clue where their products are actually going." "The schemes are so elaborate, even the most scrupulous companies can be deceived," said David Albright, president of ISIS and co-author of the case studies.

The ISIS case studies, some of which are based on information contained in the September 2008 grand jury indictment against a number of foreign individuals and companies involved in procuring items for Iranian entities through Dubai and Malaysia-based trade networks, include copies of invoices, contents of e-mails from companies looking to buy U.S. and European products and detailed diagrams. These case studies are very useful for export compliance training purposes.

The PDF versions of the ISIS case studies by David Albright, Paul Brannan and Andrea Scheel can be found at the following links:

• Iranian Entities' Illicit Military Procurement Networks

• Detecting the Barrage Approach to Illicit Procurement

• How Cooperation between a Company and Government Authorities Disrupted a Sophisticated Illicit Iranian Procurement