June 13, 2006
JS-4317

Treasury Designates U.S. and Chinese
Companies
Supporting Iranian Missile Proliferation

The Department of the Treasury today designated four Chinese companies and one U.S. company pursuant to Executive Order 13382, an authority aimed at financially isolating proliferators of weapons of mass destruction, their supporters, and those contributing to the development of missiles capable of delivering WMD. 

"The companies targeted today have supplied Iran's military and Iranian proliferators with missile-related and dual-use components," said Stuart Levey, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI). "Governments worldwide are urged to take appropriate measures to ensure that their companies and financial institutions are not facilitating Iran's proliferation activities."

Designations under E.O. 13382, which are administered by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), prohibit all transactions between the designees and any U.S. person and freeze any assets the designees may have under U.S. jurisdiction.

The Chinese companies designated today are Beijing Alite Technologies Company, Ltd. (ALCO), LIMMT Economic and Trade Company, Ltd., China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC), and China National Precision Machinery Import/Export Corporation (CPMIEC). The U.S. representative office of CGWIC is G.W. Aerospace, Inc., which is located in Torrance, California. 

The Chinese firms have provided, or attempted to provide, financial, material, technological or other support for, or goods or services in support of, the Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO), the Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group (SBIG) and/or the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group (SHIG), all of which were designated by President George W. Bush in the annex to E.O. 13382.

AIO, a subsidiary of the Iranian Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, is the overall manager and coordinator of Iran's missile program, overseeing all of Iran's missile industries. SBIG, an affiliate of AIO, is also involved in Iran's missile programs. Among the weapons SBIG produces are the Fateh-110 missile, with a range of 200 kilometers, and the Fajr rocket systems, a series of North Korean-designed rockets produced under license by SBIG with ranges of between 40 and 100 kilometers. Both systems are capable of being armed with at least chemical warheads.

SHIG is responsible for Iran's liquid-fuelled ballistic missile programs, most notably the Shahab-III medium range ballistic missile, which is based on the North-Korean-designed No Dong missile and has a range of at least 1300 kilometers.

The U.S. Government has applied various sanctions against the four Chinese companies in the past. In 2004, the State Department imposed sanctions against all four pursuant to the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000 for transferring equipment and technology to Iran that was either controlled under multilateral export control lists or which had the potential to make a material contribution to WMD. Since 2003, CPMIEC has also been subject to an import ban under E.O. 12938, as amended.

Over the past year, LIMMT has continued to supply or attempt to supply Iran's military and missile organizations with controlled items, and ALCO has continued efforts to provide Iranian missile organizations with missile-related and dual-use components. CGWIC has also continued to provide goods to Iran's missile program. Within the last two years, CPMIEC has sold the Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group goods which are controlled under the Missile Technology Control Regime.

Today's action builds on President Bush's issuance of E.O. 13382 on June 29, 2005. Recognizing the need for additional tools to combat the proliferation of WMD, the President signed the E.O. authorizing the imposition of strong financial sanctions against not only WMD proliferators, but also entities and individuals providing support or services to them.

In the Annex to E.O. 13382, the President identified eight entities operating in North Korea, Iran, and Syria for their support of WMD proliferation. E.O. 13382 authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and other relevant agencies, to designate additional entities and individuals providing support or services to the entities identified in the Annex to the Order.

In addition to the eight entities named in the annex of E.O. 13382, the Treasury Department has designated sixteen entities and one individual as proliferators of WMD, specifically:

• Eight North Korean entities on October 21, 2005;
• Two Iranian entities on January 4, 2006;
• One Swiss individual and one Swiss entity tied to North Korean proliferation activity on March 30, 2006; and
• Four Chinese entities and one U.S. entity tied to Iranian proliferation activity on June 13, 2006.

The designations announced today are part of the ongoing interagency effort by the United States Government to combat WMD trafficking by blocking the property of entities and individuals that engage in proliferation activities and their support networks. The support and cooperation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, particularly the Los Angeles Field Office, was instrumental in today's action.