Balli Aviation Ltd., a subsidiary of a British company, pleaded guilty Friday in the illegal export of Boeing 747 aircraft to Iran.The subsidiary will pay a $2 million criminal fine, be placed on probation for five years and agreed to a $15 million civil settlement between the US government, the subsidiary and its parent company, British-based Balli Group PLC.Balli Aviation Ltd. conspired to export three Boeing 747 aircraft from the United States to Iran from 2005 to 2008 without having obtained a required export license, according to papers filed in federal court where the subsidiary pleaded guilty Friday. The subsidiary also admitted it violated a US Commerce Department order that bars the company from conducting transactions subject to export regulations.An Iranian airline loaned subsidiaries of Balli Aviation money to buy the planes through a United Arab Emirates company, the court papers in the case state. Balli Aviation entered into lease agreements with a company organized under the laws of Armenia and the Iranian airline then used the capacity of the three aircraft on regular flights in and out of Iran, the papers add.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)