BLUE LANTERN: VERIFYING BONA FIDES OF REGISTERED

UNCLAS ISTANBUL 000453 SENSITIVE SIPDIS PM/DTCC - BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC KOMC TU SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN: VERIFYING BONA FIDES OF REGISTERED BROKER ONDER HAVUZLU - CASE NO K-1872 REF: SECSTATE 99612 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In response to reftel, Consulate economic officers visited the offices of PROFEN Muhendislik (Engineering) Sanayi Ticaret on December 2, 2009 and met with Managing Director Onder Havuzlu, Sales Director Sadettin Avcilar and Sales Director Ilgar Alibeyli. The purpose of this visit was to establish the bona fides of the company and its managing director, Onder Havuzlu, and to review reftel questions. Company representatives were cooperative in responding to our questions and, based on the site visit and the information provided by company representatives, we believe PROFEN is a legitimate company engaged in the brokering of defense articles and services. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) PROFEN Engineering, founded in 1995, is in the business of brokering defense articles and defense services at the Istanbul address cited in reftel. PROFEN's officers stated that satellite communications equipment, wireless and point-to-point products account for 50-60% of its sales revenue (USD 12-13 million in 2008); project design, maintenance and installation account for the rest of its revenue. PROFEN has two floors in FAMAS PLAZA in the Sisli district of Istanbul, and other offices in Istanbul and Tuzla; Havuzlu added that they also have an office in Azerbaijan. PROFEN has two other operating divisions: PROFEN Communications and PROFEN ICT (Information and Commercial Technology). The company has 50-60 employees. FOX-TV is PROFEN's largest domestic commercial customer. PROFEN's principal shareholders are: Onder Havuzlu (managing director),Sadettin Avcilar (sales director),Ilgar Alibeyli (sales director),Murat Surucu and Nuri Hacigucuoglu. ¶3. (SBU) PROFEN officers stated that the company does not deal in USML (U.S. Military List) items, and is not registered with PM/DTCC (Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance). It does have a recently expired local broker registration number (K-1872, Expiration Date 10/31/2009). Though PROFEN does not have specific authorization from Turkey's Ministry of National Defense, it does receive technical inspection by Information and Communication Technologies Authority, which was established by Turkish law in January 2000. Havuzlu offered that for almost all of their items (military or commercial) the company uses an end user application form in which it specifies the customers who will eventually use the item. Some items can be dual-use (antennae, certain electronic products); if the end user is military, PROFEN applies for an export license and uses a Department of Defense broker number. General Dynamics is a major U.S. business partner of PROFEN (PROFEN works with GD Satellite Technologies, under GD C4 Systems) and in the past has applied for an export license to sell goods to PROFEN. Many of PROFEN's clients are subcontractors, or other organizations that do business with the military. Among these are SAVRONIK, TUBITAK, ASERSEN, STFA,VESTAL, GATE AND TAI. ¶4. (SBU) Consulate officers found nothing in the public record to indicate criminal activity on the part of PROFEN, nor any derogatory information about its officers. PROFEN does not broker or export items to Iran, North Korea or Cuba. It does nonmilitary business with Iraq, Libya, Syria and Sudan. PROFEN officers declared that the company does not store or handle USML items, only commercial items like antennae. WIENER