New York: Muslim Pleads Guilty to Selling Nuclear Technology to Iran
by
Wcbm
A former Turkish actor, detained in New York for illegally selling to Iran a restricted metallic powder used in missile production, pleaded guilty on June 15.
Erdal Kuyumcu, 44, the chief executive of Global Metallurgy LLC, pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn federal court on June 15 to deliberately violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which limits trade with Iran.
The indictment said Kuyumcu collected more than 450 kilograms of cobalt-nickel metallic powder, which is used in aerospace, missile production and nuclear applications, to export them to Iran.
It added that Kuyumcu, along with another partner, then hid the metal powder in Turkey before sending it to Iran.
The indictment demanded 20 years in prison for Kuyumcu, in addition to a $1 million fine, but Kuyumcu is expected to be sentenced to up to five years in jail after reaching a deal with the prosecutor’s office and disclosing the partners and institutions involved in the plan.
