§4819 Penalties

Summary

Makes it illegal to break, try to break, plan to break, or help someone break U.S. export rules, or any orders, licenses, or permissions under those rules. That includes doing forbidden acts, helping or encouraging others to do them, trying or conspiring to do them, dealing with export items when you know a violation has happened or is planned, lying or hiding facts to the Commerce Department or other U.S. agencies, trying to get around the rules, failing to keep or give required records, changing licenses without permission, or disobeying Commerce denial orders. Any statement or certification you make to Commerce stays in effect until changed, and you must tell Commerce in writing right away if you learn something that a reasonable person would see as a material change in fact or plan. People who willfully violate these rules can be criminally fined up to $1,000,000 and, if an individual, jailed for up to 20 years, or both. The Commerce Department can also impose civil penalties for each violation: a fine up to $300,000 or twice the value of the transaction (whichever is larger), revoke licenses, or bar a person from exporting or transferring controlled items. Civil penalties require notice and a hearing, and penalty amounts take into account how serious the violation was and whether the person cooperated. A criminal conviction can also lead to forfeiture of property used in or gained from the violation, or of the illegal export itself, under federal forfeiture rules. If someone has a covered prior conviction, Commerce may block that person from exporting for up to 10 years and revoke related licenses; this can also apply to related parties after a showing of connection. These penalties do not stop other government remedies or the government’s ability to settle or compromise cases.