LAWSUITS NEWS & LEGAL INFORMATION
PRA World Wide Trading Co., Inc.
Washington, DC: (Aug-21-07) The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), a division of the US Department of Commerce, brought charges against PRA World Wide Trading Co., Inc., a freight forwarder, alleging that PRA understated the value of exports on 41 separate Shipper's Export Declarations (SEDs) filed in 2001 and 2002.
In a settlement reached, PRA agreed to pay the stipulated $250,000 fine levied by the Bureau of Industry and Security. The BIS agreed to suspend $90,000 of the penalty contingent upon PRA not committing any further violations for one year. The Settlement Agreement alleged that PRA's conduct violated two provisions of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). First, since PRA conspired with its shippers to understate the value of the shipments, PRA violated a section of the act that prohibits conspiracies to violate the EAR. Second, the false statements on the SEDs violated a section that prohibits making any false statement on an export control document. Officials' state that BIS could've fined PRA $462,000, i.e. $11,000 for 42 violations, as it did not voluntary disclose the offense. Perhaps the fine reduction reflected the fact that the President and owner of PRA, Igor Cherkassky, pleaded guilty in December 2006 to a conspiracy to file false SEDs and was sentenced to two months of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, a $5,000 criminal fine, and a $100 special assessment. [EXPORT LAW BLOG]
Published on Aug-22-07
In a settlement reached, PRA agreed to pay the stipulated $250,000 fine levied by the Bureau of Industry and Security. The BIS agreed to suspend $90,000 of the penalty contingent upon PRA not committing any further violations for one year. The Settlement Agreement alleged that PRA's conduct violated two provisions of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). First, since PRA conspired with its shippers to understate the value of the shipments, PRA violated a section of the act that prohibits conspiracies to violate the EAR. Second, the false statements on the SEDs violated a section that prohibits making any false statement on an export control document. Officials' state that BIS could've fined PRA $462,000, i.e. $11,000 for 42 violations, as it did not voluntary disclose the offense. Perhaps the fine reduction reflected the fact that the President and owner of PRA, Igor Cherkassky, pleaded guilty in December 2006 to a conspiracy to file false SEDs and was sentenced to two months of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, a $5,000 criminal fine, and a $100 special assessment. [EXPORT LAW BLOG]
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