United States v. Banki
Encyclopedia
On January 7, 2010, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in eight New York counties: New York , Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess, and Sullivan. Preet Bharara, who was appointed by Barack Obama in 2009 is the U.S. Attorney for the...

 announced that naturalized U.S. citizen Mahmoud Reza Banki, born in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

, had been arrested for criminal violations of the Iran Trade Embargo. On March 17, 2010, the US Attorney filed an indictment in United States District against Banki. On June 5, 2010, Banki was convicted. Sentencing was set for July 16, 2010. Banki was finally sentenced on August 17, 2010, to two and a half years in prison.

Banki made a series of currency exchanges on behalf of his family, between the U.S. and Iran, using the Hawala
Hawala
Hawala is an informal value transfer system based on the performance and honor of a huge network of money brokers, which are primarily located in the Middle East, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and South Asia...

 method. He declared these exchanges to the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...

 and the Office of Foreign Assets Control
Office of Foreign Assets Control
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury under the auspices of the Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. OFAC administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on U.S...

, and paid taxes on them. However, as the indictment notes on the bottom of page 5:

Banki did not ask for and receive the required license for each exchange.

On August 25, 2010, the Iranian American Bar Association
Iranian American Bar Association
The Iranian American Bar Association was formed in 2000 in the District of Columbia and is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code.-Background:...

 announced that it would file an amicus curiae
Amicus curiae
An amicus curiae is someone, not a party to a case, who volunteers to offer information to assist a court in deciding a matter before it...

 brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals...

 on United States v. Banki. It has also hired lawyers to request further guidance from OFAC on import of goods from Iran.

On September 1, 2010, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat money laundering, terrorist financiers, and other financial crimes.As reflected in its name, the Financial...

issued an advisory on "Informal Value Transfer Systems", referencing United States v. Banki.

On October 24, 2011, a federal appeals court threw out Banki's conviction for violating the Iran trade embargo, citing that the US law states that family remittances are exempt. The court then ordered a new trial for Banki on charges that he participated in a hawala, an illegal money transfer business.

Banki's lawyers believe this latest development is good news for Banki who, they say, has never participated in a hawala. A hearing will be held on November 9, at which time defense lawyers will request that Banki be released on bail.

On November 2, 2011, the U.S. District Judge John F. Keenan signed papers ordering Banki’s immediate release
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK