Export compliance is an important part of doing business – especially when the penalties for non-compliance can be so steep. In fact, an individual can face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine per violation if convicted. What are you doing to ensure your export compliance program is up to par?

Earlier this month, Switzerland sent a strong international message by becoming the first county to lift sanctions on Iran. This comes as a result of the Iran nuclear deal announced in July 2015, although Switzerland was not directly involved with the deal itself. The United States is set to follow suit sometime in mid-to-late 2016, or possibly even later.

The decision was made by the Swiss Federal Council, which consists of seven people and is considered to be the governing body of Switzerland. There are several results of this ban being lifted, the first of which allows for the transaction of precious metals. Additionally, entities no longer have to report the transportation of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and petrochemical products to the Swiss government. Finally, monetary transfer thresholds from Iranian nationals were increased tenfold as a result of these sanctions being lifted.

Falcon/ FIMCO, an Iranian instrumentation and machinery company, pleaded guilty to the export violation of “conspiracy to evade export licensing requirements” late last month. The company attempted to smuggle a machine with military and civilian applications from the U.S. to Iran, in conjunction with Hetran, Inc., also charged for their involvement.

Amber Road is excited to sponsor the NCBFAA Global Trade Educational Conference on August 3 – 4 in Chicago. This conference is designed for customs brokers, freight forwarders, NVOCCs, OTI, service providers, importers, exporters and global logistics professionals and will feature industry developments, networking opportunities and opportunities to ask your most pressing global trade questions.

Last month, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Moscow admitted that he was a part of network designed to smuggle approximately $65 million worth of electrical components from the U.S. to Russia. He has been charged with several export violations, including “one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, one count of conspiracy to smuggle electronics from the United States, and one count conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA).”

In May, Amber Road, in conjunction with Compliance Week, broadcasted a webinar on Developing an Effective Export Compliance Strategy and Audit Process to Reduce Risk. Our presenters, Suzanne Richer and Scott Lewis, both of Amber Road, received several questions throughout the webinar that they were unable to address during the live broadcast. We have compiled their answers into a Q&A document – here is a preview.

Al-Naser Airlines, a charter airline based in Iraq, along with Bahar Safwa General Trading and Ali Abdullah Alhay, have had their U.S. export privileges revoked for attempting to export civilian aircrafts into Iran. Additionally, Al-Naser Airlines, along with Syrian businessman Issam Shammout and Sky Blue Aviation, has been added to the terrorist list under Executive Order 13224 for providing “financial, material and technological support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corpos-Qods Force.”

Have you registered yet for tomorrow’s webinar on developing an effective export compliance strategy? In this free webinar, Compliance Week and Amber Road will dig a little deeper into export risks – and how to avoid them. Attendees will learn how to manage export audit processes for continuous improvement and risk reduction. Key topics will include:

Export transactions can be complicated. Each one comes with a certain degree of risk, and that risk can be hard to manage without the proper set of tools. Luckily, there are many strategies that can help.

Pavel Flider, a Russian national and naturalized U.S. citizen, was arrested last month for illegally smuggling electrical components from the United States to Russia as well as using laundered money to fund the operation. The items he smuggled had both civilian and military applications and are described as “controlled dual-use programmable computer chips capable of operating in austere environments.” Flider was indicted for Smuggling Goods, Conspiracy to Commit International Money Laundering, and Money Laundering in San Francisco on March 5th.