Connecticut business owners who profited from unlawful exports to Pakistan, sentenced

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A Pakistani father and son were sentenced July 18, in Bridgeport federal court in Connecticut, for profiting from unlawful exports to Pakistan.

U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill sentenced both Muhammad Ismail, 67, of Meriden, and Kamran Khan, 38, of Hamden, to 18 months imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, John H. Durham, announced in a press release.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from at least 2012 to October 2013, Ismail, and his two sons, Kamran and Imran Khan, were engaged in a scheme to purchase goods that were controlled under the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) and to export those goods without a license to Pakistan, in violation of the EAR.

Ismail and his sons, conducted their business through their companies, Brush Locker Tools, Kauser Enterprises-USA and Kauser Enterprises-Pakistan. They received orders from a Pakistani company that procured materials and equipment for the Pakistani military, requesting them to procure specific products that were subject to the EAR. When U.S. manufacturers asked about the end-user for a product, the Ismail and his sons told them that the  product would remain in the U.S. or they completed an end-user certification indicating that the product would not be exported, the press release said.

After the products were purchased, they were shipped by the manufacturer to the defendants in Connecticut.  The products were then shipped to Pakistan on behalf of either the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (“PAEC”), the Pakistan Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (“SUPARCO”), or the National Institute of Lasers & Optronics (“NILOP”), all of which were listed on the U.S. Department of Commerce Entity List.  The defendants never obtained a license to export any item to the designated entities even though they knew that a license was required prior to export, authorities say.  The defendants were paid through wire transactions from Value Additions’ Pakistan-based bank account to a U.S. bank account that the defendants controlled.

On March 5, Ismail and Kamran Khan each pleaded guilty to one count of international money laundering, for causing funds to be transferred from Pakistan to the U.S. in connection with the export control violations.  In pleading guilty, Ismail and Kamran Khan specifically admitted that, between January and July 2013, they procured, received and exported to SUPARCO, without a license to do so, certain bagging film that is used for advanced composite fabrication and other high temperature applications where dimensional stability, adherence to sealant tapes and uniform film gage are essential.  The proceeds for the sale of the bagging film was wired from Pakistan to the defendants in the U.S.

Ismail and Kamran Khan are both citizens of Pakistan and lawful permanent residents of the U.S.

On June 1, 2017, Imran Khan, of North Haven, pleaded guilty to one count of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.  In pleading guilty, Imran Khan specifically admitted that, between August 2012 and January 2013, he procured, received and exported to PAEC an Alpha Duo Spectrometer without a license to do so.  He is released on a $100,000 bond pending sentencing.

The investigations in this case were conducted by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement.