WASHINGTON, June 6 (UPI) -- A subsidiary of Fokker, the Dutch aerospace company, will forfeit $21 million for selling U.S.-made goods to sanctioned countries, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.
Fokker Services, a division of Fokker Technologies Holding BV, sold aircraft parts, technology and services to Iran, Sudan and Burma -- countries on the list of U.S. sanctions -- over a five-year period. The company made over 1,100 shipments to the three countries, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said Thursday.
The dollar amount equals the value of the transactions, company officials said in a 2010 voluntary self-disclosure statement.
Court documents indicated Fokker Services employed "work-around" methods, which included falsified documents suggesting parts were destined for other airlines when they were actually sent to airlines in the banned countries.
"For years, Fokker Services treated U.S. export laws as inconveniences to be 'worked around' through deceit and trickery. Today's prosecution sends a clear message that there will be consequences for those who seek to profit from violating and circumventing U.S. trade laws," U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. said in a statement.
Some former law enforcement officials said the forfeiture fine was insufficient, suggesting the need for criminal penalties and a much stiffer fine.
Eric A. Dubelier, who prosecuted similar cases as a former U.S. attorney, said the fine was not a strong enough message to firms who do business with Iran.
