Belgian shipper pleads guilty to illegal U.S. exports

Robbins & Myers Belgium, S.A., pleaded guilty Thursday to four counts of violating IEEPA and EAR.    Robbins & Myers Belgium S.A., a subsidiary of Robbins & Myers, Inc., pleaded guilty Thursday to four counts of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Export Administration Regulations, the U.S. Justice Department said.
   The guilty plea stemmed from actions by Robbins & Myers Belgium that, in 2006, caused four illegal exports — components for oil extraction equipment — that were made from steel milled in the United States for a company operating oil fields in Syria.
   Robbins & Myers Belgium agreed to pay $1 million in criminal fines (or $250,000 for each violation) and serve a term of corporate probation. The Justice Department said the proceeds received by Robbins & Myers Belgium for the four illegal exports was $31,716. As part of its plea agreement, Robbins & Myers Belgium also forfeited the entire $31,716 to the government. In addition, the company entered into a civil settlement with the Commerce Department requiring it to pay $600,000 in civil penalties.
   “The significant civil and criminal penalties in this case show our resolve to pursue and prosecute those who flout our export control laws,” said Commerce Undersecretary Eric Hirschhorn in a statement. “We will continue to work in concert with our partner agencies to ensure that U.S. technology stays out of the wrong hands.”
   According to court documents, in May 2006, an internal auditor with Robbins & Myers Inc. (the U.S. parent company of Robbins & Myers Belgium, which was acquired by National Oilwell Varco in 2013) discovered the company’s Belgian subsidiary had shipped stators made from U.S.-origin steel to a customer in Syria. The internal auditor informed senior management of the shipments; management then confirmed those shipments had occurred, and that they were likely in violation of U.S. law, which prohibited trade in U.S.-origin goods with Syria. Although the U.S.-based parent directed Robbins & Myers Belgium to stop the shipments, it continued to export the cargo to Syria between August 2006 and October 2006.  
   “Following those illegal shipments, employees of the Belgian subsidiary attempted to hide documents related to those shipments from the government’s investigators,” the Justice Department said.