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United States imposes non-proliferation measures against two companies in Belarus

The United States has imposed restrictive measures against two companies in Belarus – TM Services Limited (TMS) and KB Radar – under the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act.

The Act provides for penalties on entities and individuals for the transfer to or acquisition from Iran since January 1, 1999; the transfer to or acquisition from Syria since January 1, 2005; or the transfer to or acquisition from North Korea since January 1, 2006, of goods, services, or technology controlled under multilateral control lists or otherwise having the potential to make a material contribution to the development of weapons of mass destruction or cruise or ballistic missile systems.

According to the US Department of State, those subjected to the restrictive measures also include four companies and one individual in China, two companies and one individual in Iran, two companies in Sudan, Syria’s Army Supply Bureau and Venezuelan Military Industry Company (CAVIM).

The measures, authorized in Section 3 of the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act, mean that no department or agency of the US government may procure or enter into any contract for the procurement of any goods, technology, or services from these foreign entities, their successors, subunits or subsidiaries; that no department or agency of the US government may provide any assistance to these foreign entities, and these entities shall not be eligible to participate in any assistance program of the US government, that no US government sales to these foreign entities of any item on the US Munitions List are permitted, and all sales to these entities of any defense articles, defense services, or design and construction services under the Arms Export Control Act are terminated, and that no new individual licenses shall be granted for the transfer to these foreign entities of items the export of which is controlled under the Export Administration Act of 1979 or the Export Administration Regulations, and any existing such licenses are suspended.

These measures are to remain in place for two years from the effective date (February 5, 2013), “except to the extent that the Secretary of State may subsequently determine otherwise.”

According to the website of Belarus’ State Defense Industry Committee, KB Radar is a Minsk-based design bureau that specializes in research and development in the field of radar and electronic warfare.

TM Services, a Minsk-based research and development company founded in 1994, was earlier accused of being involved in schemes that helped Iran circumvent the UN Security Council’s resolutions aimed at halting its nuclear and ballistic missile activities. In 2011, the TM Services owner, Yury Charnyawski, denied that his firm had made an effort to obtain a control component for missiles for Iran from Russia’s RPC Optolink Ltd.

Optolink General Director Yury Korkishko said that TM Services was seeking to buy from his company an Inertial Measurement Unit, which has missile control applications, for Belarusian National Technical University. //BelaPAN