On January 29, 2021, Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced an Administrative Settlement of $3.2 million (partially suspended) with Singapore-based Avnet Asia Pte. Ltd. (Avnet Asia), a global distributor of electronic components and related software. BIS alleged that on 53 occasions between October 2007 and January 2014, Avnet Asia employees illegally exported various controlled electronic components through Singapore to China and Iran, including to a company on the BIS Entity List. During the course of these transactions, Avnet Asia ordered, sold, forwarded, and/or transferred more than $1.2 million worth of items subject to the EAR or the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations with knowledge or reason to know of the violation of the EAR. Most of these items, classified under Export Control Classification Number 3A001, are subject to export controls for National Security and Anti-Terrorism reasons. As such they are prohibited from export to Iran and China without the requisite license.
In a related matter, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an indictment for Cheng Bo, a Chinese national and former employee of Avnet Asia. Mr. Bo is accused of shipping US power amplifiers to China and is charged with participating in a criminal conspiracy to violate US export control laws.
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