DEMARCHE DELIVERED: MALAYSIAN FIRM ACTING AS FRONT

S E C R E T BRUSSELS 001407 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/WE, EUR/PRA AND ISN/MTR:JPHERRMANN E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/09/2018 TAGS: PARM MTCRE PREL ETTC BE IR MY SUBJECT: DEMARCHE DELIVERED: MALAYSIAN FIRM ACTING AS FRONT FOR IRANIAN ENDUSER OF BELGIAN DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM REF: A. STATE 92637 ¶B. BRUSSELS 1129 ¶C. STATE 77529 Classified By: POL Counselor Richard Eason, reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (S) On September 9 Poloff delivered ref A points regarding the pending sale of A9910 data acquisition systems manufactured by the Belgian firm Thales Alenia Space to the Malaysian firm Evertop, known to be operating as a front for an Iranian end-user. Poloff met with Walter Bauwens, Director of the Non-Proliferation and Export Controls Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Bauwens said that export licenses in Belgium are issued by officials of the country's three regional governments (in Wallonia, Flanders and Brussels). The MFA's role is advisory. Thales, he said, is an extremely large Belgian firm with administrative offices in several Belgian cities in different regions. The region where the headquarters of the Thales subsidiary involved in the Evertop transaction is located has authority over the export license. Bauwens assured Poloff that the MFA would transmit the information on the Thales/Evertop transaction to the right office for appropriate action. ¶2. (S) After the meeting, Poloff spoke to Bauwens' staff member, Filip de Clercq, who had received the original demarche on this subject (refs B and C). De Clercq said that he had originally sent the information to the Wallonia regional government, but that he now believes Thales Alenia Space is headquartered in Flanders and intends to follow up with the Flanders regional government. ¶3. (S) Post will seek confirmation from ISN/MTR of the location of the headquarters of Thales Alania Space. We will then deliver the demarche to the appropriate regional official to complement the approach to the MFA. .