An Australian electronics supplier has admitted in a US court to smuggling aircraft components to Iran, in breach of strict sanctions against the supply of military materials.
A decade after he came to the attention of US authorities, Sydney man David Levick last week struck a deal with prosecutors in Washington DC to plead guilty to four charges over his dealings that saw components for helicopters shipped to Iran.
Mr Levick claimed to one supplier of helicopter equipment that its products were to be used by aircraft operated by mining giant BHP in either Malaysia or Papua New Guinea. He told another that parts would be used in “unmanned helicopters that survey rural Australia”. However, all the equipment he was sourcing was destined for Iran.
Under the plea deal, prosecutors will seek a sentence of less than four years and nine months in jail. Sentencing is scheduled to take place next month.
The 57-year-old and his business, ICM Components, had been indicted in the US in 2012, but he was not extradited until December last year.
Read the article by Mark Schliebs in The Australian.