Li Chen, formerly of Dublin, Ohio, was sentenced to 20 months in prison for conspiring to steal medical-related trade secrets and sell them to China, the Justice Department said Feb. 1. Chen worked with her husband to try to steal scientific trade secrets related to “exosomes and exosome isolation” from Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Research Institute, the agency said. Both Chen and her husband, Yu Zhou, worked in medical research labs at the institute but received “benefits” from the Chinese government and applied to several Chinese-run talent plans, which are used to transfer foreign research and technology to the Chinese government. She also is accused of setting up a company in China to sell exosome “isolation kits,” based on the trade secrets.Chen will forfeit about $1.25 million, 500,000 shares of common stock of Avalon GloboCare Corp. and 400 shares of common stock of GenExosome Technologies Inc., the Justice Department said. She was also ordered to pay $2.6 million restitution. Her husband pleaded guilty to similar charges and is awaiting sentencing.

The State Department is adjusting its civil monetary penalties for inflation, the agency said in a notice Feb. 2. The new amounts will apply only to penalties assessed on or after Feb. 2, the agency said.

The Bureau of Industry and Security fined a Singapore-based electronics and software distributor more than $3 million and suspended its export privileges for violating the Export Administration Regulations, which included illegal exports to China and Iran, according to a Jan. 29 order. BIS said Avnet Asia Pte., Ltd. committed 53 EAR violations over several years when it sold export-controlled electronic components totaling more than $1 million. The Justice Department also charged Chinese national Cheng Bo, a former Avnet Asia employee, for participating in a conspiracy to violate U.S. export laws.

The Bureau of Industry and Security issued orders temporarily denying export privileges for three people involved in illegal exports. Irma Lizette Trevizo was convicted April 30, 2019, of conspiring to smuggle firearms and ammunition from the U.S. to Mexico, BIS said in a Jan. 25 order. Trevizo was sentenced to two years in prison, two years of supervised release and a $100 fine. BIS denied Trevizo’s export privileges for 10 years from the date of her conviction.

The State Department announced penalties on two foreign entities and one foreign official for illegal transfers under the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act. The agency said the three transferred items subject to multilateral control lists that contribute to weapons proliferation or missile production, in a notice. The entities are China-based Ningbo Vet Energy Technology, Ningbo Zhongjun International Trade and their subsidiaries. Also sanctioned was Rim Ryong Nam, a North Korean official based in China and working for North Korea’s Munitions Industry Department. The two entities and the official are barred from purchasing items controlled on the U.S. Munitions List and by the Arms Export Control Act. The State Department also will suspend any current export licenses used by the entities and official and bar them from receiving new export licenses for any goods subject to the Export Administration Regulations. Government agencies are barred from entering into procurement contracts with them. The measures took effect Jan. 13.

An Indonesian paper product manufacturer agreed to a fine of more than $1.5 million in order to settle charges related to bank fraud involving trade with North Korea, the Justice Department said Jan. 17. The company, PT Bukit Muria Jaya (BMJ), also entered into a settlement agreement with the Treasury Department and was fined more than $1 million by the Office of Foreign Assets Control for violating U.S. sanctions (see 2101140045). The Justice Department said BMJ admitted to the violations and agreed to implement an improved compliance program, as part of a deferred prosecution agreement. OFAC said it planned to credit the penalty money owed by BMJ once the company completes payment of its fine to the Justice Department.

A Singaporean man was fined $6,000 (in Singapore dollars) and sentenced to 30 days in prison for submitting false documents to Singapore Customs, the agency said Jan. 14. Ekbal Din, who owns the freight forwarding business Turino Export Import, pleaded guilty to submitting false documents involving exports of cigarettes. Singapore said Turino exported two shipments to the United Kingdom that contained nearly 2,000 cartons of cigarettes, but the bills of lading described the contents as “milo powder.” Singapore said Ekbal submitted the false bills of lading “under the instructions of an unknown man” involved in smuggling cigarettes.

An Indonesian paper product manufacturer settled for more than $1 million after apparent violations of U.S. sanctions against North Korea, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said Jan. 14. OFAC said PT Bukit Muria Jaya (BMJ) exported cigarette paper to North Korea and “directed payments” for those exports to its U.S. dollar bank account at a non-U.S. bank, causing U.S. banks to “clear wire transfers related to these shipments,” which included shipments to a sanctioned North Korean person.

The U.S. charged three Iranian nationals for illegal smuggling activities, including a scheme to illegally export U.S. goods to Iran, the Justice Department said Jan. 12. The three people -- Arash Yousefi Jam, Amin Yousefi Jam and Abdollah Momeni Roustani -- were charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations.

The United Kingdom issued four penalties against companies for violating U.K. money-laundering regulations this year, including the largest-ever fine issued by the country’s revenue and customs agency, a Jan. 7 news release said. The fines include a record $32 million-equivalent penalty against MT Global Ltd Money Service Business, a money-transfer company, the U.K. said. The other penalties include a fine worth about $9,000 against Robert Holmes & Co., a fine worth about $7,000 against Landmark Sales and Lettings Ltd Estate Agency Business and a fine worth about $3,300 against Company Address Services Ltd Trust or Company Service Provider. The penalties stem from due diligence and risk assessment “failures” relating to money-laundering violations. The U.K. also published a list of 13 companies with suspended or canceled business registrations due to violations.