Three Charged Today in Plot to Export Sensitive Technology to China Space Entity

New Counter-Proliferation Task Forces & Training Part of National Effort

WASHINGTON - A multi-agency initiative to combat illegal exports of restricted military and dual-use technology from the United States has resulted in criminal charges against more than 145 defendants in the past fiscal year, with roughly 43 percent of these cases involving munitions or other restricted technology bound for Iran or China, the Justice Department and several partner agencies announced today.

Over the past fiscal year, the National Export Enforcement Initiative has also resulted in the creation of Counter-Proliferation Task Forces in various judicial districts around the country. Today, there are approximately 15 such task forces or versions of them nationwide. In addition, the initiative has resulted in enhanced training for more than 500 agents and prosecutors involved in export control and the creation of new mechanisms to enhance counter-proliferation coordination among law enforcement agencies, export licensing agencies and the Intelligence Community.

Among the most recent cases brought in connection with the initiative was an indictment returned today in the District of Minnesota charging three individuals, Jian Wei Ding, Kok Tong Lim, and Ping Cheng, with conspiring to illegally export to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) controlled carbon-fiber material with applications in rockets, satellites, spacecraft, and uranium enrichment process. According to the indictment, the intended destination for some of the material was the China Academy of Space Technology, which oversees research institutes working on spacecraft systems for the PRC.

Unveiled in Oct. 2007, the National Export Enforcement Initiative is a cooperative effort by the Justice Department’s National Security Division (NSD), the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the Pentagon’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and other agencies.

http://www.bis.doc.gov/news/2008/doj10282008.htm

Oct. 6, 2008 -- Chemical manufacturer Nalco Co. has agreed to pay a $115,000 civil penalty to settle allegations that it made 13 unlicensed exports in violation of the Export Administration Regulations, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced Oct. 3.

The allegations involved exports of items containing triethanolamine (TEA) to Angola, the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic between April 2003 and September 2006. According to the BIS, TEA can be used as a precursor for toxic agents and is controlled for chemical/biological, anti-terrorism and chemical weapons reasons.

Nalco voluntarily self-disclosed the exports to the BIS

Compiled By Jill Jusko

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 RALEIGH, N.C. -- Amid a federal probe into whether Blackwater Worldwide smuggled weapons into Iraq, the private security contractor said Thursday it has established a panel of defense experts and former prosecutors to ensure it follows U.S. export laws.