- A company from Durango sent seven machines to the Iranian Republic that were intended for the manufacture of components for turbines used in power generation plants

- To avoid customs control, the Spanish exporter used a front company based in Türkiye

- Those responsible could face prison sentences and a fine of up to six million euros

The Tax Agency has dismantled a machinery smuggling scheme that violated the international embargo imposed against Iran by the United Nations Security Council. According to the investigations carried out to date, this machinery would have been destined for the Iranian Republic's nuclear proliferation program. The exporting company, a company based in Durango (Bizkaia), carried out the shipment prohibited by the UN using a front company in Istanbul. Those responsible for the plot could now face prison sentences and fines of up to six million euros.

In the first phase of the operation, called 'Kakum', the Tax Agency detected suspicious activities by a company from Durango in the first months of 2012. In September 2009, the company was denied a licence by the competent authorities to export to Iran seven machines for the manufacture of turbine blades used in power plants, as they were considered susceptible to use in the Iranian nuclear programme.

To overcome the denial of authorization, the now-discovered plot designed, in collusion with the Iranian company, a strategy to evade customs export controls and smuggle the aforementioned machinery to Iran.

To do so, it used an intermediary company that the Iranian purchasing company had created in Turkey for purely instrumental purposes. In this way, before the Spanish Customs, formally, the end-use of the machinery was Istanbul. However, the reality was different, since the merchandise, once it arrived in Istanbul, was immediately sent to Tehran, its true destination.

Once the facts were reported to the Judicial Authority, the second phase of Operation 'Kakum' was executed on November 13. Customs Surveillance officers from the Tax Agency, acting as Judicial Police, and IT experts from the Agency's Special Delegation in the Basque Country, searched the company's facilities and seized a large amount of documentation and IT material, which is currently being studied by experts from the Tax Agency.

Violation of safety regulations

Those responsible for the plot, accused of smuggling, face prison sentences and a fine of up to six times the value of the exported goods. Given that the seven machines sent to Iran have an estimated total value of 955,000 euros, the penalties could be around six million euros.

Operation 'Kakum' has revealed that the plot involved has violated Spanish laws on foreign trade control of defence and dual-use material, as well as EU regulations on the matter. Likewise, the international commitments made by Spain to promote peace, stability and security at the global and regional level and the general interests of national defence or the State's foreign policy would have been violated.

Likewise, the company's lack of due diligence in the fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is demonstrated, which requires States and companies with the capacity to export products or technologies that may be used in such proliferation programmes to prevent the direct or indirect supply of weapons systems and products that may be used in nuclear and missile programmes.

Operation 'Kakum' began with the usual controls that the Basque Regional Customs Unit of the Tax Agency carries out on foreign trade operations carried out through the customs premises of the Autonomous Community and on companies in the sector, and, in this specific case, on the exports of goods and technologies likely to contribute to nuclear proliferation programs.

Audio-visual resources

Filming and photos of the documentation and operation of the 'Kakum' operation (contact the AEAT Press Office)