Aura Limited Settles Charges of Unlicensed Exports

The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced that Aura Limited (Aura) of the United Kingdom has agreed to a denial of export privileges for a period of two years to settle charges that it aided and abetted the transshipment of certain medical equipment to Iran in violation of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) charged that, between June 2, 1999 and March 22, 2000, Aura aided and abetted the export of bone densitometer equipment without prior authorization from the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), as required by the EAR.

The United States maintains a comprehensive embargo on trade with Iran because of Iran’s support for international terrorism. Under the terms of the embargo, most exports to Iran are prohibited unless they are authorized in advance by OFAC. The export of items to Iran without OFAC approval is a violation of the EAR and is subject to criminal penalties and administrative sanctions.

Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Julie L. Myers commended Special Agent David Nardella, of BIS’s Chicago Field Office, for his efforts in the investigation of this case.