MTAG: LATEST ON SWISS INVESTIGATION OF BB

S E C R E T BERN 001896

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR ISN/MTC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/05/2016
TAGS: PARM ETTC SZ IR
SUBJECT: MTAG: LATEST ON SWISS INVESTIGATION OF BB
ENGINEERING

REF: SECSTATE 153651

Classified By: Poloff Eric Lundberg, Reasons 1.4 b/d/h

1.(S) Poloff shared with the Swiss Secretariat for Economic
Affairs (SECO) the reftel non-paper regarding Swiss
proliferator BB Engineering and its relations to Iranian firm
Ariasa. Following up, SECO's Juergen Boehler told Poloff on
October 4 that the investigation of BBE remained with the
internal Swiss intelligence agency, DAP. He understood it
was progressing, but refrained from offering Poloff further
details. (Comment: Boehler earlier this year had been
rebuked by the DAP for discussing BBE with Embassy ICE deputy
attache. End comment.)

Swiss Press breaks story on BBE
--------------

2.(C) On October 5, the Swiss weekly "Facts" published a
two-page article describing BBE and its owner Miroslav Hirtl,
(without naming either) as "Tehran's Swiss helper." The
"Facts" article, written by Martin Stoll, was quite well
researched, suggesting information came from DAP or another
informed source. The article quoted DAP deputy director
Juerg Buehler as saying the case had been presented to the
Federal Prosecutor for further investigation -- a claim post
is trying to confirm. The article cited a document
containing a list of 12 high-tech navigational instruments
which BBE sought from U.S. firm Sperry Marine; when the
export license was denied, BBE falsified an export license
application with a fake Vietnamese end-user. "Facts" also
reported that Swiss customs seized Iranian-bound DC motors
that were shipped by BBE. "MH" (aka Hirtl) was quoted as
confirming his trade relationship with Iran, but denying any
involvement with the Iranian weapons industry.

3.(S) The "Facts" article made no mention of the United
States Government, but wrote that a "foreign intelligence
agency" had given the Swiss information on BBE. The article
highlighted the extent of Iranian technology shopping
throughout Europe, with U.S. expert David Albright
identifying Germany and Switzerland as prime targets. The
article also spotlighted the role of the United Arab Emirates
as a weigh station for this technology. Overall, the "Facts"
article concluded that Iranian demand for technology is
great, but export controls in Europe are lax.

4.(U) The "Facts" article is not available on the magazine's
website, www.facts.ch . Post is prepared to fax a German
language version to the Department.
CONEWAY