U.S. offers $15 million reward for woman, 3 accomplices accused of smuggling drone technology to Iran
The U.S. Department of State is offering a reward of up to $15 million for a woman and three accomplices who have been allegedly smuggling U.S. technology to Iran for nearly 20 years.
Liu Baoxia, also known as Emily Liu, allegedly worked with three associates to use front companies in China to send U.S. electronic components to companies linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the State Department
said in a news release
. The associates were identified as Li Yongxin, also known as Emma Lee; Yung Yiu Wa, also known as Stephen Yung; and Zhong Yanlai, also known as Sydney Chung.
The electronic components could be used in the production of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, ballistic missile systems, and other "military end uses," the State Department said. Thousands of components were sent, the State Department
said in another post
.
Liu and her associates allegedly misrepresented who the electronic components would be sent to, so they were exported to the Chinese front companies under the belief they were being sent to China. Instead, they were exported to Iran-linked companies Shiraz Electronics Industries, Rayan Roshd Afzar, and their affiliates, the State Department said.
Federal charges against the four, including conspiracy, were announced in January 2024. Known locations for Liu and her associates are Tehran, Iran; Shiraz, Iran; Bandar Abbas, Iran; Beijing, China, and Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Federal arrest warrants have been issued for
Liu
and
Chung
, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation has added them to its "Most Wanted" list. The U.S. State Department said its Rewards For Justice program was offering a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to their arrest.
The IRGC regularly uses front companies to make and move money, and to procure technology while
evading sanctions and trade controls
, the State Department said. The IRGC and Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, which supervises the development and production of the nation's military weapons, have utilitized U.S. technology to manufacture arms and weapons systems, the State Department said. Those systems are then sold to governments and groups in Iranian-allied countries like Russia, Sudan and
Yemen
.
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