OFAC: German firm pays $14.5m to settle Iran sanctions violations over polypropylene plant scheme 

German industrial equipment company Aiotec GmbH has agreed to pay $14.55 million to settle potential civil liability for conspiring to cause a US company to sell and supply an Australian polypropylene plant to Iran, according to a 3 December announcement by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (‘OFAC’).

Between 2015 and 2019, Aiotec conspired to cause a US company to indirectly sell and supply the Australian plant to Petro-Iranian Downstream Industries Development Co. (‘PIDID’) ‘and remit payments for the polypropylene plant through U.S. financial institutions,’ according to the enforcement notice.

The Berlin-based company falsely claimed the $9.7 million plant would be operated in Turkey while simultaneously arranging its diversion to Iran. ‘Between 2016 and 2017, in response to follow-up questions from the U.S. Company regarding the Plant’s end-user and destination, Aiotec continued to conceal the fact that the Plant was being exported to PIDID in Iran, and repeatedly misrepresented to the U.S. Company that the Turkish Company was the end user,’ the notice explained.

OFAC determined Aiotec’s violation was ‘egregious’ and not voluntarily self-disclosed.

The agency found multiple aggravating factors, including that ‘Aiotec’s senior management advanced the Conspiracy and made multiple false representations to the U.S. Company over the course of four years with the express purpose of deceiving the U.S. Company.’

It said $9.55 million of the settlement amount will be suspended pending satisfactory completion of Aiotec’s compliance commitments, which include implementing a sanctions compliance program and hiring a dedicated compliance officer.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USTREAS/bulletins/3c51422