[Financial Times-UK] Joanna Chung and Daniel Dombey - New York prosecutors joined the Obama administration Tuesday in shutting down a China-based network that allegedly supplied Iran's nuclear and missile programs with the unwitting aid of some of Wall Street's biggest banks. Robert Morgenthau, the Manhattan district attorney, unsealed an 118-count indictment accusing Li Fang Wei, a Chinese national, of setting up front companies to disguise the illegal sales. At the heart of the case is the LIMMT Economic and Trade Company. The administration has banned U.S. groups from dealing with LIMMT since June 2006 on the grounds that it provides material support to Iran's missile program, which analysts see as one of the three components of nuclear weapons capability, together with building warheads and uranium enrichment. Morgenthau said Li's companies acquired financing to ship large quantities of components to Iran's missile and nuclear programs between November 2006 and September 2008.
2009-04-08 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive