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A dual US-Iranian citizen and chief executive of a Tehran-based technology firm has been apprehended in the United States on federal charges concerning a decade-long operation to unlawfully export American-origin networking and encryption hardware to Iran's nuclear and military sectors in breach of sanctions regulations.
The suspect, identified as Jamshid Ghomi, 63, a resident of Newport Coast, California, was detained following a federal criminal complaint. The document accuses him of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by procuring and exporting restricted American technology to Iran without obtaining the necessary clearance from the Office of Foreign Assets Control. According to federal prosecutors, Ghomi, the founder and chief executive of Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh Co. Ltd. (FPR), leveraged his enterprise to obtain sensitive US networking hardware. The equipment was subsequently rerouted through third-party intermediaries stationed in the United Arab Emirates before being transferred to Iranian buyers, which included various state and military-affiliated entities. The US Department of Justice stated that investigators believe the illicit operation was a premeditated attempt to circumvent export regulations and channel sophisticated American technology to blacklisted Iranian bodies. Federal authorities asserted that between 2011 and 2015, the accused utilised eBay and PayPal accounts to execute more than 400 acquisitions of regulated technology. He later transitioned to coordinating direct purchases from commercial suppliers based in Minnesota and Nebraska through a network of shell companies. Furthermore, investigators stated that from 2014 to 2018, Ghomi managed the illicit transit of more than 250 metric tonnes of hardware into Iran, utilising freight forwarding services operating out of Dubai. During these operations, shipping records were falsified and the identities of the actual end-users were systematically hidden. Legal submissions reveal that FPR delivered technology to the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, the body tasked with managing the nation's nuclear framework, alongside the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics. Prosecutors maintained that the firm additionally delivered encryption and security networks to defence-affiliated operations, entirely disregarding explicit sanctions bans. Officials noted that the accused masked the financial trails of the operation through convoluted monetary transactions, fraudulent invoices, and shell corporations, funnelling over USD 15 million into the United States between 2011 and 2024. Law enforcement bodies also stated that Ghomi intentionally underreported his earnings to revenue officials while financing a multi-million-dollar luxury estate in Newport Coast using the proceeds of the unlawful trade. The US Department of Justice underscored that this prosecution aligns with expanded federal enforcement strategies aimed at curbing unauthorised technology transfers to adversarial nations. If found guilty, Ghomi faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. However, judicial officials stressed that the criminal complaint remains an accusation at this stage, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. (ANI)
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