WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department and Meggitt-USA have concluded a settlement over alleged violations of the Arms Export Controls Act.
The administrative settlement, which covers alleged violations of International Traffic in Arms Regulations, was announced Friday and follows "an extensive compliance review by the Department of State's Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs of multiple disclosures submitted by Meggitt group subsidiaries involving hundreds of potential civil violations of the AECA and ITAR, of which sixty-seven are alleged as charges," the State Department said.
"This settlement highlights the Department's responsibility to protect U.S. defense hardware and technology from unauthorized use and ensure compliance with the AECA and ITAR."
The State Department said Meggitt subsidiaries and business units over a number of years had disclosed "hundreds" of ITAR violations beginning in the mid-1990s. The alleged violations mainly involved "the unauthorized export of defense articles, including technical data, the unauthorized provision of defense services, violation of the terms of provisos or other limitations of license authorizations, and the failure to maintain specific records involving ITAR-controlled transactions."
The consent agreement between the State Department and Meggitt is for 30 months. Meggitt is assessed a civil penalty of $25 million, of which $3 million will be paid in installments and the remainder suspended on the condition that the company approves certain company measures, such as voluntary company pre-consent agreement remedial compliance measures and consent agreement-authorized remedial compliance costs.
The State Department noted Meggitt voluntarily disclosed nearly all of the ITAR violations resolved in this settlement. The company learned of the alleged infractions as a result of an internal post-acquisition review.
Meggitt PLC, the British parent company of Meggitt-USA, describes itself as a global engineering group producing environment components and smart sub-systems for aerospace, defense and energy markets. It has operations in Europe, North America, Latin America and the Middle East.
The State Department did not disclose Meggitt-USA's alleged violations.
