US$5m bounty on Chinese businessman
Print Edition
THE United States yesterday offered a reward of up to US$5 million for information leading to the arrest of a Chinese businessman accused of supplying missile parts to Iran.
It also targeted companies from China and Dubai for allegedly helping Iran to evade weapons and oil sanctions.
The US State Department said the reward was for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Li Fangwei, who is also known as Karl Lee.
The US Treasury Department, meanwhile, said it was sanctioning eight of Li’s Chinese companies for allegedly procuring missile parts for Iran.
The businessman has been the target of US sanctions before for his alleged role as a principle supplier to Iran’s ballistic missile program.
The State Department said the bounty on Li’s head was coordinated with the US Treasury and Justice Department, which unsealed an indictment against him on charges including conspiracy to commit money laundering, bank fraud and wire fraud.
“According to the indictment, he (Li) controls a large network of front companies and allegedly uses this network to move millions of dollars through US-based financial institutions to conduct business in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators Sanctions Regulations, which prohibit such financial transactions,” the department said in a statement.
The Treasury, meanwhile, said it was targeting a firm based in Dubai and several associated individuals for helping Iran evade US sanctions against its oil industry.
Iran and a group of world powers reached a temporary deal in November under which Tehran will get about US$7 billion in sanctions relief in return for steps to restrain its nuclear activities.
The deal called for negotiation of a full agreement within a year.
A United Nations report said earlier this month that Iran has acted to cut its most sensitive nuclear stockpile by nearly 75 percent, making clear Tehran is undertaking the agreed steps to curb its nuclear program.
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