Where Industry and Security Intersect
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The U.S. Department of Commerce Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement, Michael J. Garcia, announced today that a $75,000 civil penalty has been imposed on The Sumner Corporation, of Evanston, Illinois, for the export of centrifugal pumps by one of its subsidiaries, Ansimag, Inc., in violation of the Export Administration Regulations.
On 15 separate occasions between October 1995 and January 1998, The Sumner Corporation/Ansimag, Inc. allegedly exported centrifugal pumps - items subject to the Regulations - from the United States to Israel and Taiwan, without the required Department of Commerce export licenses. The Commerce Department's Bureau of Export Administration controls these specific centrifugal pumps because of their ability to be used in the manufacture of chemical weapons precursors.
In March 1999, The Sumner Corporation provided a voluntary self-disclosure based on information concerning a company holding, Ansimag, Inc. This information identified the unlicensed exports as noted above.
The Bureau of Export Administration controls and licenses exports and re-exports of dual-use commodities, technology, and software for reasons of national security, foreign policy, nonproliferation, regional stability, and short supply. Criminal penalties, as well as administrative sanctions, can be imposed for violations of the Export Administration Act and Regulations.
Assistant Secretary Garcia commended the effort of the Chicago Field Office for the work performed in this investigation.
In April of 2002 the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA) changed its name to the Bureau of Industry and Security(BIS). For historical purposes we have not changed the references to BXA in the legacy documents found in the Archived Press and Public Information.