Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
I want to return to Mr. Bickett to elaborate on a case within your report:
In U.S. v. Hossein Hatefi Ardakani & Gary Lam, filed in December 2023, the defendants were charged with crimes related to the procurement of U.S.- manufactured dual-use microelectronics for Iran. Ardakani, an Iranian national, and Lam, a resident of Hong Kong and China, allegedly conspired to illegally purchase and export these components to support Iran’s drone (UAV) program.
Through “a sophisticated network of front companies”, components for UAVs “were shipped to Hong Kong before being re-exported to Iran. This network allegedly involved multiple companies in France, Canada, and China—some aware of the ultimate buyer and some not.”
Mr. Bickett, can you expand on the involvement of Canadian companies in this case?