WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- A Belgian man has been arrested and charged with conspiring to export F-5 fighter jet engines and other parts to Iran, U.S. authorities said Wednesday.
Jacques Monsieur, a Belgian national and resident of France, was to be arraigned Wednesday in federal court in in Mobile, Ala., the Justice Department said.
Monsieur, who federal authorities said has been suspected for decades of international arms dealing, was arrested Friday in New York and is charged with conspiring with an Iranian, Dara Fotouhi, to buy F-5 fighter jet engines and parts.
An indictment alleges that in February 2009, Monsieur contacted an undercover agent seeking engines for the F-5 fighter jet for export to Iran. Thereafter, prosecutors said, Monsieur had regular e-mail contact with the undercover agent about requested F-5 engines and parts.
The engines are replacements for the F-5 fighter jet that was sold to Iran by the United States before the 1979 Iranian revolution. The engines are on the U.S. Munitions List and may not be exported from the United States without a license from the State Department.
In July, the Justice Department alleged, Monsieur, 56, contacted an undercover agent offering $110,000 for jet parts and $300,000 as a down payment for two of the fighter jet engines. This month, Monsieur requested information from the undercover agent about his contact in Colombia for forwarding the aircraft parts from Colombia to the United Arab Emirates, the indictment alleges.
A six-count indictment filed in federal court in Mobile charges Monsieur and Fotouhi with conspiracy, smuggling and money laundering, as well as violating the Arms Export Control Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
