ITT to pay $100M fine for exporting technology to China

[EagleEyes]

ITT to pay $100M fine for exporting technology to China
By WILLIAM MATTHEWS
March 28, 2007

ITT, the chief manufacturer of night vision equipment for the U.S. military, agreed to pay $100 million in fines for violating the U.S. Arms Export Control Act by selling night vision technology to China in 2001.

The fine is one of the largest ever paid in a criminal case, according to the U.S. Justice Department. ITT’s guilty plea makes it the first major defense firm convicted of a criminal violation of the Export Control Act.

Kenneth Wainstein, an assistant U.S. attorney general, said the sale “jeopardized our national security and the safety of our military men and women on the battlefield.”

Equipment that lets U.S. service members see at night is critical to U.S. war-fighting capability, he said.

Documents filed March 27 in U.S. District Court in Roanoke, Va., say that ITT exported “defense-related technical data” to the People’s Republic of China, Singapore and Britain in 2001 without obtaining the required license or permission from the U.S. State Department.

The exported data included information about a laser countermeasure called a “light interference filter” for night vision goggles.

The documents also say that between 2000 and 2004, ITT left key facts out of arms export reports, making the reports misleading. In addition, “ITT Corp was aware that it was violating its export licenses for night vision goggles but failed to take significant corrective action,” the documents say.
In a plea agreement, ITT admitted guilt and agreed to pay a $2 million criminal fine, a $20 million penalty to the State Department and to forfeit $28 million in proceeds from the illegal sale.

The company agreed to invest another $50 million in developing more advanced night vision systems, U.S. prosecutors said, so that U.S. troops can maintain their margin of advantage in night vision technology.

ITT president Steven Loranger blamed the violations on “the actions of a few individuals in one of our 15 business units,” and insisted that “the heart of our night vision goggles — the tube — is secure. No technical information regarding the tube was ever compromised.”

Loranger said ITT now has a “renewed commitment to a culture or integrity ... We are firmly committed to ensuring that this will not happen again.”

Julie Myers, assistant secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which assisted in the prosecution, said, “Placing profits ahead of the security of our nation is simply not acceptable for any corporation.”

Source: http://www.isrjournal.com/story.php?F=2655351

 

[PakSniper]

Nice!

I wonder how many other companies be doing the same thing. But they didn't get the tube tech for the night vision goggles, they might probably look else where for those, I'm thinking Russia or they might do their own R&D.

 

[EagleEyes]

They can easily get it in the Indian Occupied Kashmir, while we can sing a few songs with our artillery.

The other thing to note is, they agreed to pay the fine without any hassel. Any hint that Chinese will cover the cost and pay double?