Suntek and its former president settle illegal export charges
Suntek Microwave and its former president Charlie Kuan both agreed to pay fines to the U.S. government for illegal exporting high-tech amplifiers to China.
Suntek agreed to pay the Commerce Department a $275,000 civil penalty and accepted a 20-year denial of export privileges. Kuan agreed to pay a $187,000 civil penalty and accepted a 20-year denial of export privileges.
Since Kuan is unemployed and the Newark, Calif.-based Suntek is no longer in business, the Commerce Department agreed to suspend the monetary part of the civil penalty.
In related criminal cases, on April 26, Suntek pled guilty in the Northern District of California to violating U.S. export regulations and was fined more than $339,000. Kuan pled guilty in the same court Sept. 23, 2002, and is awaiting sentencing.
According to the Commerce Department, this settlement represents the first criminal conviction of a “deemed export.” The deemed export provision of the U.S. export regulations states that an export license is required to release technology to a foreign national in the United States if a license is required to export that technology to that individual’s home country overseas.
Suntek allegedly made its illegal exports between 1996 and 2000. The detector log video amplifiers that were shipped to China could be used for military radar, missile and satellite communications. They require a license to be shipped from the United States. Kuan falsified the export documents for these shipments.
Suntek also allegedly had Chinese nationals on site from 1996 to 2000, without meeting the U.S. deemed export provisions, to train on how to use this technology.
