Amiri Consulting Company Searched by Federal Agents

Federal agents have searched the offices of a computer consulting firm suspected of shipping high-tech equipment to Iran in violation of U.S. export regulations.

Ray Amiri Computer Consultants is suspected of exporting equipment to Iran without a proper export license, according to a federal search warrant executed last week. The court order did not specify the type of equipment or dates of shipments.

The Newport Beach firm lists its business as computer consulting, exporting, wholesale and software development, according to business records filed with the city of Newport Beach. The company’s owners are listed as Reza and Faezeh Amiri.

The Amiris could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Employees at Ray Amiri described the search as routine and would not discuss the company’s business activities. The employees, who asked not to be named, said the company has not violated any federal export laws. They acknowledged, however, that agents of the Commerce Department and U.S. Customs Service visited the company last Thursday and seized an unspecified number of company documents and business records.

The court order authorized agents to seize the company’s financial, telephone, computer and travel records dated from June 1, 1989, to Feb. 28, 1991. The agents were also authorized to confiscate telex and facsimile communications and export-related records.

A number of Iranian entities may have been involved in the transactions, including the government oil ministry and several telecommunications companies, according to the warrant.

It could not be determined if the Amiris had previous business ties to Iran or were themselves Iranian nationals.

Commerce Department officials in Newport Beach confirmed that the government is investigating the company.

Regulations on the export of U.S. technology to Iran are “very restrictive,” department officials said. Some commodities like food and medicine can be exported to Iran under a general export license, but shipments of certain technology with possible military applications are prohibited.

The search came weeks before a federal interagency group is expected to propose tighter controls on exports to certain countries, including Iran, of technology that could be used in the development or production of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. The proposed changes, triggered by Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait last August, were developed by the departments of Commerce, State and Defense and the National Security Council.