AFP: New charges were filed Wednesday against Irish-based Mac Aviation Group and its officers for allegedly exporting F-5 fighter aircraft parts and other military equipment to Iran, the US Justice Department said.
WASHINGTON, July 7, 2010 (AFP) – New charges were filed Wednesday against Irish-based Mac Aviation Group and its officers for allegedly exporting F-5 fighter aircraft parts and other military equipment to Iran, the US Justice Department said.
In addition to the original charges against the firm unsealed in March 2009, two new charges allege a violations of the Arms Export Control Act, US officials said.
The new charges were contained in a superseding indictment from a grand jury in Washington against Mac Aviation and its officers, Thomas and Sean McGuinn of Sligo, Ireland.
The indictment said the firm purchased F-5 fighter aircraft parts, helicopter engines and other aircraft components from US firms and illegally exported them to Iran starting in 2005.
According to the indictment, the firm promised to deliver the parts to an Iranian trading company but concealed the final destination for the goods.
The new indictment alleges that from 2005 until 2006, the defendants purchased canopy panels designed for the F-5 fighter aircraft, and falsely stated that the end user was the Republic of Nigeria.
Instead, the panels were sold to Iran for 86,400 dollars.
The two officers could face prison terms of between five and 20 years for each of the charges.
The previous charges allege that Mac Aviation purchased 17 helicopter engines from Rolls-Royce in Indiana for 4.27 million dollars and exported them to Iran through companies in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates.
