A 52-year-old Chinese national has been arrested in the US on charges of trying to illegally export to China high-grade carbon fibre, primarily used in aerospace and military applications.
The FBI arrested Fuyi Sun, aka Frank, on Wednesday for attempted for years to acquire high-grade carbon fibre for illegal export to China, US Attorney Preet Bharara said.
"Earlier this week, after travelling to New York from China to finalise the deal, Sun allegedly told undercover agents that the carbon fibre he sought was headed for the Chinese military, and then paid tens of thousands of dollars in cash to purchase two cases of it," Bharara said.
He said to avoid law enforcement detection, Sun allegedly directed the undercover agents to ship the carbon fibre in unmarked boxes and to falsify the shipping documents regarding the contents of the boxes.
The carbon fibre - which has many aerospace and defense applications - is strictly controlled and Sun expressed willingness to pay a premium to skirt US export laws, said Assistant US Attorney General Carlin.
The complaint charges Sun with one count of attempting to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), one count of conspiracy to violate IEEPA and one count of attempting to smuggle goods from the US.
Sun was arrested after travelling to the US to meet with undercover agents (UCs) in an effort to obtain the specialised fibre which, due to its military and aerospace applications, requires an export license for export to China.
