US Federal Case Dismissed Against Iranian Defendants for Alleged Criminal Violation of the Prohibitions of US Economic Sanctions against Iran

-- United States of America v. Nader Modanlo, et al., The United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Criminal No. PJM-10-0295.

WASHINGTON, March 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In June of 2010, a United States federal grand jury indicted six individuals, one American and five Iranian citizens, on charges of conspiring to illegally provide satellite hardware and technology to Iran, in violation of the US economic sanctions against Iran and money laundering. The indictment alleged that as a result of the conspiracy, an Iranian earth satellite equipped with a camera was launched into space in Russia on October 27, 2005. Charged in the indictment were: Nader Modanlo, age 49, of Potomac, Maryland, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Iran; Hamid Malmirian, age 53; Reza Heidari, age 52; Mohammad Modares, age 44; Abdol Reza Mehrdad, age 43; and Sirous Naseri, age 55, all Iranian nationals (collectively, the "Iranian Nationals").

Throughout the period from June 2010 through December 30, 2013, The Eren Law Firm represented and advised one of the defendant Iranian Nationals whose case was dismissed, and during the period prevented an international warrant from being issued for his arrest.

Nader Modanlo's case went to trial. He was convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring to illegally provide satellite related services to Iran in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, two counts of violating the Iran Trade Embargo, money laundering and obstruction of bankruptcy proceedings. The judge in the case also ordered Modanlo to forfeit $10 million.

As a result of the conspiracy, the Court found that an Iranian earth observation satellite equipped with a camera was launched into space from Russia on October 27, 2005, and that the launch was the first-ever Iranian satellite put into orbit.

The Iranian nationals, who remained outside of the United States, were not arrested.

On December 30, 2013, the case against the Iranian Nationals was dismissed.

Additional Information

For more information or questions regarding the subjects covered in this News Release, please contact:

Hal Eren, Washington, DC, +1-202-429-9883, hal.eren@erenlaw.com

The Eren Law Firm is an economic sanctions law boutique. Its other core areas of concentration and practice include corporate transactions, and international dispute resolution, anti-money laundering, and international trade regulation. The Firm's clients from around the world include banks and financial institutions; insurance, reinsurance and other financial services companies; natural resource extraction companies, industrial companies, marine and air transportation companies, shipowners; sovereign governments; foreign state enterprises; and individuals.

Mr. Eren and Mr. Pinter of the Firm served at the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the U.S. government agency that administers and enforces U.S. economic sanctions, for a combined 25 years prior to entering private law practice, respectively 12 and 11 years ago, and since this time, they have devoted and continue to devote most of their time in private practice to economic sanctions issues and matters.