Texas shipper pays $2.5 million for export violations

   The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security on Monday said Flowserve Corp. and 10 of its overseas affiliates have agreed to pay a civil penalty totaling $2.5 million to settle 288 charges for violating the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by making unlicensed exports and re-exports of pumps, valves and related components to Iran and Syria and other countries.
   Flowserve is based in Irving, Texas, and is a supplier of goods and services to the oil, gas, chemical, and other industries.
   “Today’s settlement reflects the serious consequences that result when companies do not comply with sanctions against trading with Iran and Syria,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement David W. Mills, in a statement.
   BIS alleged that between 2002 and 2008, Flowserve and six of its overseas affiliates made unlicensed exports and re-exports to a variety of countries, including China, Singapore, Malaysia and Venezuela, of items classified under Export Control Classification Number 2B350 and controlled for reasons of chemical and biological weapons proliferation.
   The agency also alleged that six of Flowserve’s overseas affiliates caused the transshipment of EAR 99 items to Iran and/or the re-export of EAR 99 items to Syria without the required U.S. government authorization.
   In addition to the civil penalty, Flowserve and a number of the Flowserve affiliates will be required to make external audits of their compliance programs and submit the results to BIS.  Flowserve’s voluntarily disclosure of the violations and its cooperation with the investigation significantly reduced the penalty amount, the agency said.
   In a related case, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) settled charges with Flowserve alleging a total of 58 violations of its Iranian, Cuban and Sudanese sanctions programs. Flowserve agreed to pay a $502,408 civil penalty to resolve those charges.