US charges tech CEO over alleged exports of restricted equipment to Iran

A dual US-Iranian citizen and chief executive of a Tehran-based technology company was arrested in the United States on federal charges relating to an alleged ten-year scheme to unlawfully export American-origin networking and encryption hardware to Iran’s nuclear and military sectors, in violation of sanctions regulations.According to ANI, the defendant, Jamshid Ghomi, 63, a resident of Newport Coast, California, was taken into custody following a federal criminal complaint accusing him of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The complaint alleges he procured and exported restricted American technology to Iran without obtaining the requisite authorisation from the Office of Foreign Assets Control.Federal prosecutors identify Ghomi as the founder and chief executive of Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh Co. Ltd. (FPR), through which he allegedly sourced sensitive US networking hardware. The equipment was purportedly rerouted via third-party intermediaries in the United Arab Emirates before being transferred to Iranian recipients, including state and military-affiliated entities.The US department of justice stated that investigators regard the operation as a deliberate effort to circumvent export controls and direct advanced American technology to sanctioned Iranian bodies.Authorities alleged that between 2011 and 2015, Ghomi used eBay and PayPal accounts to conduct more than 400 acquisitions of regulated technology before transitioning to direct purchases from commercial suppliers in Minnesota and Nebraska through a network of shell companies. Investigators further alleged that, from 2014 to 2018, he coordinated the transit of more than 250 metric tonnes of hardware into Iran through freight forwarding services operating out of Dubai, during which shipping records were falsified and end-user identities were systematically concealed.Court filings indicate that FPR supplied technology to the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, the body responsible for overseeing the country’s nuclear programme, as well as to the ministry of defence and armed forces Logistics. The firm is additionally alleged to have provided encryption and security systems to defence-affiliated operations in contravention of explicit sanctions prohibitions.Prosecutors said that Ghomi obscured the financial trail through complex monetary transactions, fraudulent invoices, and shell corporations, channelling over USD 15 million into the United States between 2011 and 2024. Authorities further allege he deliberately underreported his income to tax officials while funding a multi-million-dollar luxury property in Newport Coast with proceeds from the unlawful trade.The justice department indicated the prosecution forms part of broader federal enforcement efforts to prevent unauthorised technology transfers to adversarial states. If convicted, Ghomi faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Judicial officials noted that the criminal complaint constitutes an allegation only, and the defendant retains the presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law.