CEO and Commercial Manager of Iranian Company Charged in Connection with Conspiracies to Provide Material Support, Violate Export Control Laws and Commit Money Laundering
BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, a complaint was unsealed charging Iranian nationals Hossein Akbari and Reza Amidi, and an Iran-based Rah Roshd Company (“Rah Roshd”), with conspiring to procure U.S. parts for Iranian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (“UAVs”), also known as drones, conspiring to provide material support to the IRGC, a designated foreign terrorist organization, and conspiring to commit money laundering. Akbari is the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of Rah Roshd. Amidi is the company’s commercial manager and was previously the commercial manager of Qods Aviation Industries (“QAI”), an Iranian state-owned aerospace company. They are both citizens of Iran and remain at large.
John J. Durham, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Sue Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the charges.
“As alleged in the complaint, the defendants conspired to obtain U.S.-origin parts needed to manufacture drones for military use in Iran and send those parts to Iran in violation of export control laws,” stated United States Attorney Durham. “The charges filed today demonstrate the commitment by my Office and our law enforcement partners to dismantle illicit supply chains and prosecute those who unlawfully procure U.S. technology in support of a foreign terrorist organization. The IRGC and Qods Aviation Industries have been core players in the Iranian military regime’s production of drones, which threaten the lives of civilians, U.S. personnel, and our country’s allies. These charges should serve as a warning to those who violate U.S. export control laws and who unlawfully seek to aid Iran’s drone program.”
Mr. Durham expressed his appreciation to the FBI and the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) for their work on the case. Today, OFAC sanctioned Akbari, Rah Roshd, and other companies and individuals for their roles in the sanctions-evasion scheme described in the complaint. OFAC previously sanctioned Amidi.
“Today’s charges lay bare how U.S.-made technology ended up in the hands of the Iranian military to build attack drones,” stated Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department will continue to put maximum pressure on the Iranian regime. We will relentlessly dismantle illicit supply chains funneling American technology into the hands of Iran’s military and terrorist organizations and pursue those complicit in operations that threaten our country.”
“Hossein Akbari and Reza Amidi allegedly engaged in a multi-year conspiracy to obtain U.S. technology for use in Iranian made drones in violation of export laws and to provide material support to the IRGC—a designated terrorist organization,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia. “The Iranian government has repeatedly demonstrated they are willing to violate the laws of our nation—this time utilizing dishonest businessmen who deliberately misrepresented themselves—in order to further their treacherous goals. The FBI will continue to protect the national security and interests of the United States through vigorous enforcement of export control laws put in place to prevent sensitive U.S. technology from being obtained by hostile foreign governments.”
As set forth in the complaint, Akbari and Amidi operate Rah Roshd, which procures and supplies advanced electronic, electro-optical, and security systems to the Government of Iran and designs, builds, and manufactures ground support systems for UAVs. Akbari serves as the CEO and Managing Director of Rah Roshd, and Amidi serves as the Commercial Manager. Rah Roshd’s clients include the IRGC and several Iranian state-owned aerospace companies and drone manufacturers, including QAI, Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (“MODAFL”), Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center (“SAIRC”), and Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group (SBIG).
Between January 2020 and the present, Amidi and Akbari used Rah Roshd in furtherance of a scheme to evade U.S. sanctions and procure U.S.-origin parts for use in Iranian-manufactured UAVs, including the Mohajer-6 UAV. At least one of those parts was manufactured by a Brooklyn, New York-based company (“Company-1”). In September 2022, the Ukrainian Air Force shot down an Iranian-made Mohajer-6 drone used by the Russian military in Ukraine. The drone recovered by the Ukrainian Air Force contained parts made by several U.S. companies, including Company-1.
To facilitate their scheme, Amidi and Akbari falsely purported to represent companies other than Rah Roshd, including a company based in the United Arab Emirates (“Company-2”) and a company based in Belgium (“Company-3”). The defendants used a “spoofed” email address with a misspelled version of Company-2’s name to communicate regarding the procurement of parts, including parts manufactured by U.S. companies. The defendants also used various “front” or “shell” companies to pay for UAV parts and to obfuscate the true end destination and the true identities of the sanctioned end users, including QAI and the IRGC, which were acquiring U.S.-made parts through Rah Roshd. Amidi and Akbari also used aliases to obfuscate their true identities in furtherance of the scheme.
Additionally, the defendants conspired to provide material support to the IRGC by providing goods and services for the benefit of the IRGC’s military campaign. This included constructing military shelters, providing cameras and drone field hangers, and conspiring to procure drone parts as well as parts to operate drones, including “servo motors,” “pneumatic masts,” which are a component of the operation of the Mohajer-6 drone, and engines. The investigation uncovered correspondence from the IRGC, signed by the head of the UAV Command for the IRGC’s Aerospace Force, thanking Rah Roshd for its work on behalf of the IRGC and praising Rah Roshd’s achievements in designing and manufacturing servo motors for defense equipment. The letter included a quote from the Supreme Leader of Iran regarding the importance of self-sufficiency and domestic production to strengthen Iran’s economy and “disappoint the enemies of the Islamic Republic.” The letter also noted continued efforts of Rah Roshd “in strengthening the defensive capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Both Amidi and Akbari possessed documents indicating that they had purchased servo motors for delivery to Iran, including a servo motor contained in the Mohajer-6 drone. Akbari also emailed supply companies located in China and noted that he was purchasing parts for drones to be shipped to Iran.
Finally, Amidi and Akbari conspired to commit money laundering. They used at least three shell companies, all based in the United Arab Emirates, to pay a China-based company that sent invoices to Rah Roshd for the sale of motors. Those payments were processed through U.S.-based correspondent bank accounts. The defendants also used two of these shell companies to pay a separate China-based company for the sale of pneumatic masts.
Today’s actions were coordinated through the Justice and Commerce Departments’ Disruptive Technology Strike Force. The Disruptive Technology Strike Force is an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation states.
The charges in the complaint are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Nina C. Gupta and Lindsey R. Oken are in charge of the prosecution with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Rebecca Roth, along with Trial Attorney Scott Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Trial Attorney Charles Kovats of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
The Defendants:
HOSSEIN AKBARI (also known as “Danial Yousef” and “Danial White”)
Age: 63
Iran
REZA AMIDI (also known as “Ali Rahmani”)
Age: 62
Iran
RAH ROSHD COMPANY
Tehran, Iran
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-MJ-114