BLUE LANTERN: BROKER JOHN WILLIAM KINGSTON: BROKER INQUIRY

UNCLAS SYDNEY 000272 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR PM/DTCC JOUBERT-LIN, EEB AND EAP/ANP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC KOMC AS SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN: BROKER JOHN WILLIAM KINGSTON: BROKER INQUIRY K-1401 REF: STATE 94177 ¶1. (SBU) U.S. Consulate Sydney conducted a broker check of Strategic General Services (SGS) PTY LTD, located in Buderim, Queensland, on December 17. The following information was gathered during a phone interview and email exchange with SGS: -- SGS was founded in 1998 by John William Kingston and his wife, who are the sole owners of the company. Kingston does business from a home office and SGS's mailing address is a post office box in Buderim. He served in the Australian Defence Force and retired with the rank of Major General. Kingston serves as operational head of the company, while his wife is a passive investor/co-owner. --SGS is deemed to be a broker for ITT Corporation in defense-related equipment. In addition to acting as a broker and consultant, Kingston is a director of ITT Defence (Australia) Pty Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITT. Kingston noted that he had stated to the Department of State in a letter accompanying his registration package that he believed SGS should not be subject to the Arms Export Control Act since the company provides strategic consulting advice to ITT related to market positioning and sales leads in the Australian market, rather than acting as their agent or representative. Nevertheless, SGS has registered with the Office of Defense Trade Controls out of an abundance of caution. According to Kingston, ITT has not sold any products or services into the Australian market, but is intent on doing so. --Kingston states that he does not possess ITAR-covered data and products. Kingston is well-versed in ITAR / USML regulations on sensitive technologies and prohibitions against unauthorized re-transfers and re-exports. ¶2. (SBU) There is no registration requirement with the federal government for broker services in Australia. However, the Australian Defence Export Control Office agreed to run registered brokers through their databases. No record of export application or derogatory information was found regarding Kingston or SGS. ¶3. (SBU) Comment: Post is satisfied that SGS is a reliable broker/recipient of USML items. End Comment. FERGIN