Shahab Ghasri, a naturalized Swedish citizen of Iranian origin, was found guilty of violating international sanctions against Iran.  The verdict was delivered by a Swedish district court in February 2013; Ghasri was given a three month suspended jail sentence.  Between February and April 2011, Ghasri attempted to sell vacuum pumps and corrosion-resistant valves to Iran.  The shipment was intercepted by Swedish customs officials, who checked the dual-use products and discovered that the cargo’s final destination was not Dubai, as declared, but Iran.

The valves are not on a U.N. list of goods that Iran is prohibited from importing, but they could be used in uranium enrichment.  According to a U.N. report, the "bellows sealed valves" have direct nuclear applications and the "non-bellows sealed valves" could use used in "auxiliary systems."  Ghasri's used multiple techniques to evade controls, including by obscuring the end-user and dealing with technology that falls below international control levels.

Ghasri set up his company, Petroinstrument HB, "in order to procure items on behalf of Iranian entities," according to the U.N. report.  The company is based in Lund, Sweden.