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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | BUREAU OF INDUSTRY AND SECURITY |
| Thursday, September 13, 2007 |
Office of Public Affairs |
| www.bis.doc.gov | 202-482-2721 |
New York Firm Settles Allegations of Illegal Shipments to Iran
WASHINGTON - The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) today announced that Henry Schein, Inc., of Melville, New York (Schein), agreed to pay a $165,000 civil penalty to settle 25 charges that it violated the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) in connection with unlicensed exports of dental equipment.
BIS charged that on six occasions between October 2001 and March 2003, Schein conspired to export and exported dental equipment from Indianapolis, IN and elsewhere, knowing that the items were destined for Iran. BIS further charged that Schein evaded the requirements of the EAR, made misrepresentations on export documents, and failed to comply with the EAR’s reporting and record keeping requirements in connection with these unlicensed exports to Iran.
BIS alleged that Schein ignored his freight forwarder’s notification that a license was required for exports to Iran. Schein then altered shipping documents to remove Iranian addresses, hired a new freight forwarder, and exported the equipment to Iran through the United Arab Emirates.
BIS controls the export and reexport of dual-use commodities, technology, and software for reasons of national security, foreign policy, nuclear nonproliferation, chemical and biological weapons nonproliferation, regional stability, and short supply. Criminal penalties and administrative sanctions can be imposed for violations of the EAR. The maximum civil penalty in this case was $11,000 per violation.
For full text of the charging letter, settlement agreement, denial order, and Order of the Assistant Secretary see: http://efoia.bis.doc.gov/ExportControlViolations/TOCExportViolations.htm