ITALY OFFERS INFO OF POSSIBLE IRAN SANCTIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 000347 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT PASS TO ICE/DRO, ICE/IAO, ICISN/CPI:RUGGIERO, ISN/RA: MENKHOFF E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2019 TAGS: KNNP ENRG ETTC MNUC PARM SUBJECT: ITALY OFFERS INFO OF POSSIBLE IRAN SANCTIONS VIOLATIONS BY US COMPANY REF: A. STATE 8305 ¶B. ROME 83 ¶C. ROME 178 Classified By: Economic Minister Counselor Tom Delare for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) This is an action request. Please see paragraph 4. ¶2. (C) Summary: On 17 March an Italian Ministry of Trade official shared with Econoff documents indicating that Worthington, a US company, may be attempting to use its Italian subsidiary to export pumps and spare parts to Iran in possible contravention of US sanctions. The official also provided additional customs information on a separate pending case involving exports of potentially dual-use pressure-regulating valves to Iran. Post has provided these documents to ISN and has shared them with ICE, which is investigating. End Summary. ¶3. (C) In response to ref A Department request concerning potentially illicit exports to Iran (ref B),Giovanni Ramella Zampa, a senior Ministry of Trade official responsible for export controls, handed Econoff additional customs documents on 17 March. The stated end user is the Pars Oil and Gas Company in Teheran. Zampa said that the requested export license would likely be rejected, but that the GOI was still seeking additional information from the USG on the export. Zampa said that technically the 180-day deadline for approving or rejecting the export license had passed. However, he added that the Italian government would likely delay a final decision until the export license committee's next meeting, in mid-April, in order to gather additional information that might strengthen the grounds for a rejection of the application. Zampa also explained that Italian courts can and do exercise judicial review over the Ministry of Trade's export license determinations. ¶4. (C) Post requests appropriate additional guidance by 13 April on whether these additional details reinforce the proliferation concerns raised in reftel B. ¶5. (C) Zampa also shared documents indicating that Flowserve, an Italian subsidiary of US-based Worthington, was exporting what appeared to be ordinary, non-dual use diesel-powered pumps and related parts to Iran. He wondered whether the Worthington parent in the US was aware of its subsidiary's actions. Zampa said he volunteered this information because he wanted the USG to be aware of a possible violation of its restrictive sanctions on Iran. Post has passed this information to ICE. DIBBLE