On July 6, 2020, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Mehdi Hashemi, a/k/a Eddie Hashemi (‘‘Hashemi’’), was convicted of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701, et seq.) (‘‘IEEPA’’). Specifically, Hashemi was convicted of knowingly and willfully attempting to export Computer Numerical Control (‘‘CNC’’) machines from the United States to Iran via the United Arab Emirates, a third country, in violation of the regulations that apply to exports to Iran. Hashemi did so without first having applied for obtained, from either the Bureau of Industry and Security or the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, a license or authorization for such export. As a result of his conviction, the Court sentenced Hashemi to 367 days incarceration, three years of supervised release, and a $100 court assessment.

Pursuant to section 1760(e) of the Export Control Reform Act (‘‘ECRA’’), the export privileges of any person who has been convicted of certain offenses, including, but not limited to, IEEPA, may be denied for a period of up to ten (10) years from the date of his/her conviction. 50 U.S.C. 4819(e) (Prior Convictions). In addition, any Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) licenses or other authorizations issued under ECRA, in which the person had an interest at the time of the conviction, may be revoked. Id.

BIS received notice of Hashemi’s conviction for violating IEEPA, and has provided notice and opportunity for Hashemi to make a written submission to BIS, as provided in Section 766.25 of the Export Administration Regulations (‘‘EAR’’ or the ‘‘Regulations’’). 15 CFR 766.25. BIS has not received a written submission from Hashemi.

Based upon my review of the record and consultations with BIS’s Office of Exporter Services, including its Director, and the facts available to BIS, I have decided to deny Hashemi’s export privileges under the Regulations for a period of 10 years from the date of Hashemi’s conviction. The Office of Exporter Services has also decided to revoke any BIS-issued licenses in which Hashemi had an interest at the time of his conviction.

Accordingly, it is hereby ordered: 

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