Lufthansa German Airlines Settles Charges Related to Unlicensed Exports

The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced that Lufthansa German Airlines of Atlanta, GA, will pay a $18,000 civil penalty to settle charges that it violated the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) in connection with an unlicensed export and an attempted unlicensed export to an entity in India on the Bureau of Industry and Security’s (BIS) Entity List.

BIS charged that between January 6 and January 15, 1999, Lufthansa aided and abetted an unlicensed export and attempted export of Cobolt-57, iron foil, and potassium ferrocyanide to the Department of Atomic Energy in India, an organization on BIS’s Entity List, without the required Department of Commerce licenses. BIS further charged that in connection with the attempted export, Lufthansa stored the items with knowledge that a violation of the EAR would occur.

The Entity List is a compilation of end-users that have been determined to present an unacceptable risk of diversion to the development of weapons of mass destruction or their means of delivery. Most exports to end-users on the Entity List require licenses from the Department of Commerce.

“This case highlights the responsibility of international freight forwarders and carriers to ensure they do not facilitate prohibited export transactions for their clients,” said Wendy L. Wysong, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement.

Acting Assistant Secretary Wysong commended the Boston Field Office for its efforts in this investigation.

The Department of Commerce administers and enforces export controls for reasons of national security, foreign policy, nonproliferation, anti-terrorism, and short supply through the EAR. Criminal prosecution and administrative sanctions can be imposed for violations of those regulations.