PPG subsidiary pleads guilty to illegal exports to Pakistan

PPG subsidiary pleads guilty to illegal exports to Pakistan    PPG Paints Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., a Chinese subsidiary of U.S.-based PPG Industries, pled guilty Tuesday to conspiring to violate the U.S. International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Export Administration Regulations, and other related charges.
   The case's combined $3.75 million in criminal and civil fines represent one of the largest monetary penalties for export violations in the history of the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security.
   The guilty plea stemmed from actions by PPG Paints Trading that caused the illegal export, re-export and/or transshipment of high-performance coatings from the United States to the Chashma 2 Nuclear Power Plant in Pakistan (Chashma 2), via a third-party distributor in China.
   As part of its plea agreement, PPG Paints Trading agreed to pay the maximum criminal fine of $2 million, and serve five years of corporate probation. The gross proceeds received by PPG Paints Trading for these three illegal exports was $32,319. As part of its plea agreement, PPG Paint Trading has forfeited the entire $32,319 to the government.
   Under the terms of the related civil settlements, PPG Industries and PPG Paints Trading agreed to pay civil penalties of $750,000 and $1 million respectively.

Hirschhorn

   To ensure that the companies going forward maintain a commitment to U.S. export controls compliance, the Bureau of Industry and Security also required an audit of 2011 and 2012 export transactions of PPG and its relevant business units in the United States and China, including transactions related to restricted end users on the agency's Entity List and nuclear end uses and end users.
   'This case demonstrates the Office of Export Enforcement’s commitment to thwart the illegal export of U.S. goods to end-users of concern. We will vigorously investigate and seek prosecution of companies and individuals who illegally export items to sanctioned entities,' said Eric L. Hirschhorn, U.S. Commerce Department's undersecretary for industry and security, in a statement.