Businessman Sentenced For Supplying Indian Government With Controlled Technology

Parthasarathy Sudarshan, 47, the owner of an international electronics business, was sentenced
in the District of Columbia to 35 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to illegally export controlled electronic components to government entities in India that participate in the development of ballistic missiles, space launch vehicles, and fighter jets.

That's according to federal law enforcement officials.

On March 13, Sudarshan, a resident of Simpsonville, S.C., pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to the felony charge of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Export Administration Regulations; and to violate the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Sudarshan was sentenced today by the Honorable Ricardo Urbina.

According to court documents filed by the government, Sudarshan did business as Cirrus Electronics and held himself out to be Cirrus' CEO, Managing Director, and President and Group Head. Cirrus has offices in Simpsonville, South Carolina, Singapore, and Bangalore, India.
Among the recipients of U.S. technology in this case were the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), an enterprise within the Department of Space of the Government of India, and Bharat Dynamics, Ltd. (BDL), an enterprise within the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India.

The U.S. government has determined that VSSC participates in India's space launch vehicle program and that BDL participates in India's development and production of ballistic missiles. As such, both VSSC and BDL are on the Department of Commerce's Entity List and exports of
U.S.-origin commodities to these entities are restricted and require prior authorization in the form of a license from the Department of Commerce.

Between 2002 and 2006, Sudarshan acquired electrical components with applications in missile guidance and firing systems in the United States for VSSC and BDL. In particular, in the case of at least two U.S. vendors, Sudarshan and others at Cirrus provided the U.S. companies with fraudulent certificates that claimed that the end-users of these electrical components
were non-restricted entities in India, when, in fact, the items were for VSSC. There were no export licenses for any of the shipments to VSSC and BDL. To further conceal from the U.S. government that goods were going to entities in India on the Department of Commerce Entity List, Sudarshan would route the products through its Singapore office and then send the
packages on to India.

In addition to supplying VSSC and BDL with components, Sudarshan acquired microprocessors for the Tejas, a fighter jet under development in India. The microprocessors were necessary for the navigation and weapons systems of the Tejas. Because the microprocessors are on the U.S. Munitions List, the State Department must license any export of the products. On two
occasions in 2004 and 2006, Cirrus caused the shipment of a total of 500 microprocessors to the Aeronautical Development Establishment, an enterprise within the Ministry of Defence of the government of India responsible for the development of the Tejas. There were no licenses for
these shipments.

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Two Indicted, Arrested for Supplying Indian Government With Controlled Technology

A South Carolina man andwoman have been indicted and arrested on charges of supplying the government of India with controlled technology without the required licenses, says Kenneth Wainstein, assistant attorney general for the National Security Division of the U.S. Justice Department.

Parthasarathy Sudarshan, 46 and Mythili Gopal, 36, both of Simpsonville, S.C., were arrested on Friday, March 23, and had their initial appearances in the U.S. District Court in Greenville, S.C.

Sudarshan had his first court appearance in the District of Columbia as he was arraigned on the charges before U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina, who has scheduled a status hearing for April 17, for both Sudarshan and Gopal.

The arrests were the result of a joint investigation by the FBI, the US Department of Commerce, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A 15-count indictment, which was returned by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia and unsealed on March 23, charges the defendants with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Arms Export Control Act and with acting as illegal agents of a foreign government. The indictment also charges AKN Prasad of Bangalore, India, and Sampath Sundar, 47, of Singapore, for their roles in the offenses, the Justice Department says.

If convicted of the charges, Sudarshan faces a likely sentencing guideline range of 97-121 months in prison, while Gopal faces a likely sentencing guideline range of 63-78 months. Prasad and Sundar face likely sentencing guideline ranges of 78-97 months, if convicted of the charges, the Justice Department says.

"These arrests put a network of technology smugglers out of business and demonstrate that we have no tolerance for weapons proliferators who illegally supply entities with weapons technology that has applications in the development of aircraft, missile and aerospace systems," says Wainstein.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a criminal violation. All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.


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