Indonesian Citizen Sentenced to Four Years in U.S. Prison for Conspiring to Violate the Arms Export Control Act
The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin announced today that Mr. Doli Sharief Pulungan, a citizen of Indonesia, was sentenced today to four years in federal prison for conspiring to violate the Arms Export Control Act by exporting ITAR-controlled rifle scopes to Indonesia. Mr. Pulungan was convicted on May 6, 2008, following a two day jury trial in federal court in Madison, Wisconsin.
According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Pulungan conspired to export 100 Leupold Mark 4 CQ/T Riflescopes designed to attach to M-16 and AR-15 assault rifles from the U.S. to Indonesia without the required State Department export licenses. According to the manufacturer's website:
The CQ/T riflescope, parts, and accessories fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of State. Unless required State Department license is obtained, this product is for sale in the U.S.A. only.Mr. Pulungun was arrested after offering an individual in Wisconsin $100,000, $30,000 more than the cost of the rifle scopes, to purchase the scopes and ship them to Saudi Arabia, where they would be subsequently shipped to Indonesia. The individual subsequently contacted the FBI.
According to various news report, Mr. Pulungun offered FBI investigators various explanations for attempting to export the rifle scopes to Indonesia, including for use in boar hunting and a rifle competition. Text messages obtained in the case indicated that that the scopes were intended to be sold to police in Indonesia. The co-conspirators remain at large.
The criminal penalties for violating the Arms Export Control Act include a fine of not more than $1,000,000, imprisonment of up to ten years, or both.
Labels: DDTC, Export Controls
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