BIS Issues Denial Order for Venezuelan Airline, Seeks Plane Forfeiture
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week suspended the export privileges of a Venezuela-based cargo airline for violating U.S. export controls. The agency said Empresa de Transporte Aereocargo del Sur, also known as Aerocargo del Sur Transportation or EMTRASUR, acquired “custody” of a U.S.-origin Boeing aircraft from Mahan Air -- a sanctioned Iranian airline (see 2205160035) -- and illegally flew that plane between Venezuela, Iran and Russia.
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BIS suspended the airline’s export privileges for 180 days, barring it from participating in transactions subject to the Export Administration Regulations. “Airlines providing potential cargo service to and from Iran utilizing aircraft in violation of U.S. export controls will face consequences,” said John Sonderman, director of BIS’s Office of Export Enforcement. Matthew Axelrod, BIS’s top export enforcement official, said the agency will “continue to take significant and direct enforcement action” against foreign airlines that use American aircraft in a way that violates U.S. export controls.
BIS said EMTRASUR’s parent company acquired the Boeing 747 from Mahan Air in October. The Venezuelan airline then changed the tail number, livery and logo on the plane, which is subject to the Export Administration Regulations and classified under Export Control Classification Number 9A991.
The agency said EMTRASUR used the plane for flights out of Tehran and Moscow from Feb. 19 through May 25. The plane flew June 6 from Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Uruguay, but Uruguay “refused” to grant it access to its airspace “due to its association with multiple sanctioned entities,” BIS said. When the plane returned to Buenos Aires that same day, it was detained by the Argentinian government.
BIS said it’s concerned that EMTRASUR will continue to violate the EAR. DOJ this week asked Argentina to seize the plane, saying it’s subject to forfeiture for violations of U.S. export controls. The agency said the aircraft’s registered captain is an ex-commander of the sanctioned Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Treasury Department in 2020 sanctioned EMTRASUR’s parent company, Consorcio Venezolano de Industrias Aeronauticas y Servicios Aereos.
Matthew Graves, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said the agency will “aggressively seek to prevent sanctioned entities” from accessing U.S-origin items. “The seizure of this aircraft demonstrates our determination to hold accountable those who seek to violate U.S. sanctions and export control laws,” he said.