In a high-profile conviction, U.S. businessman Brian Assi—also known as Brahim Assi—was found guilty on October 24 of plotting to evade sanctions and illegally ship American-made mining equipment to Iran. A federal jury convicted Assi on charges related to his conspiracy to export goods without the required licenses from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), exposing a scheme to bypass sanctions and support Iranian industries despite strict U.S. regulations.
According to evidence presented at trial, Assi, a Middle East-based sales agent for a global heavy-machinery manufacturer with a U.S. production plant in Florida, orchestrated an elaborate scheme to ship two massive blasthole drills to Iran. To mask his intentions, Assi collaborated with individuals linked to Tehran-based Sakht Abzar Pars Co. (SAP-Iran), using an Iraq-based distributor as a cover for the sale. By routing the equipment through Turkey, he concealed Iran’s involvement from both his employer and U.S. authorities, falsely claiming the drills were destined for use in Iraq.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division condemned the scheme, saying, “The defendant schemed to unlawfully export U.S.-origin mining drills to Iran, deceiving his employer into believing they were being sent to Iraq.” The scheme’s sophistication, including covert shipping channels and false documentation, highlights the lengths to which Assi went to evade U.S. export-control laws.
Matthew Axelrod, assistant secretary for export enforcement at the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, emphasized that the U.S. government remains committed to cracking down on sanctions evasion. “We take action whenever we uncover attempts to evade our sanctions, especially when those efforts are designed to support adversaries like Iran,” Axelrod stated, underscoring the seriousness with which U.S. authorities view sanctions violations.
With sentencing set for January, Assi could face severe penalties for his role in the conspiracy, marking a victory for U.S. export-control enforcement in its ongoing efforts to disrupt clandestine attempts to bypass sanctions on Iran. This conviction serves as a stark reminder that U.S. authorities are vigilant against schemes to support sanctioned adversaries and are willing to pursue such cases rigorously, regardless of how intricate or international the conspiracies may be.
