Two shippers pay civil penalties for U.S. export violations

Two shippers pay civil penalties for U.S. export violations    E.D. Bullard of Cynthiana, Ky., has agreed to pay a $330,000 civil penalty to the U.S. Commerce Department to settle charges that it violated the country’s export control rules by shipping thermal imaging cameras without licenses.
   The cameras were exported to Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Spain, Switzerland and Venezuela in violation of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
   In addition, Bullard Gmbh in Bonn, Germany, agreed to pay a $36,000 civil penalty to settle charges that it resold, re-exported and transferred thermal imaging cameras to Austria, France, and Switzerland in violation of U.S. export controls.
   The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) charged that Bullard and its subsidiary in Germany committed 61 violations of the EAR between February 2000 and March 2002. The agency said the company lacked the proper licenses. The company was also charged with making false statements on shipper’s export declarations in connection with many of the shipments.
   Elan Pharmaceuticals in South San Francisco, Calif., agreed to pay a $31,000 civil penalty to settle charges it exported biological toxin to Belgium between May 2000 and April 2002 without proper licenses.
   U.S. export controls on biological toxins are part of the U.S. government’s obligation as a member of the Australia Group, a multilateral regime whose members want to curb the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons.
   BIS said Elan voluntarily self-disclosed the violations and cooperated fully in the investigation.