US offers $15M for info on Chinese tech suppliers to Iran
The US State Department’s Rewards for Justice program is offering up to $15 million for information on four Chinese individuals involved in supplying Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) with US-controlled technology.
The IRGC, including its Qods Force, is designated by the US as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and has been linked to armed groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran-backed militias in Iraq.
The US government has accused the Chinese nationals—Liu Baoxia, Li Yongxin, Yung Yiu Wa, and Zhong Yanlai—of using front companies to illegally procure and transfer US electronic components to Iran.
“Beginning as early as May 2007, Liu and her associates allegedly utilized an array of front companies in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to send dual-use US-origin electronic components to IRGC-linked companies that could be used in the production of UAVs, ballistic missile systems, and other military end uses,” the State Department said in its announcement.
The Justice Department charged them in January 2024 with conspiring to smuggle thousands of restricted components for use in Iranian drones and missile systems.
Last week, Rewards for Justice offered a reward of up to $15 million for information that could disrupt financial networks supporting a drone-production arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Qods Force called Kimia Part Sivan Company (KIPAS).
The company has also sourced key drone components from foreign suppliers, according to US officials.
