A Belgian national and resident of France, suspected of international arms dealing for decades, was arrested on charges alleging that he conspired to illegally export F-5 fighter jet engines and parts from the United States to Iran, the U.S. Justice Department stated. Jacques Monsieur was arraigned Wednesday in a U.S. federal court in Mobile, Alabama.

Monsieur, 56, and co-defendant Dara Fotouhi, 54, an Iranian national currently living in France, were indicted with conspiracy, money laundering, smuggling, as well as violations of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

Monsieur was arrested by federal agents last Friday upon his arrival in New York. Fotouhi remains at large. According to the indictment and an affidavit filed in the case, Monsieur and Fotouhi are experienced arms dealers who have been actively working with the Iranian government to procure military items for the Iranian government.

The indictment alleges that in February 2009, Monsieur contacted an undercover agent seeking engines for the F-5 (EIF) fighter jet or the C-130 military transport aircraft for export to Iran. Thereafter, Monsieur began regular e-mail contact with the undercover agent regarding requested F-5 engines and parts.

These engines, known as J85-21 models, are replacement engines for the F-5 fighter jet that was sold to Iran by the U.S. before the 1979 Iranian revolution. It is prohibited to export the engines and parts without a license from the U.S. State Department. Additionally, these items may not be exported to Iran without a license from the U.S. Treasury Department due to the U.S. trade embargo on Iran.

The charges stated that in March 2009, Monsieur met with an undercover agent in Paris, where Monsieur again requested engines and parts for the F-5 fighter jet. In May 2009, an undercover agent met with Monsieur in London, where Monsieur introduced Dara Fotouhi as a business partner, and again discussed the illegal export of F-5 fighter jet engines from the U.S. to Iran. During this negotiation, the defendants allegedly asked the undercover agent if he could obtain or use U.S. shipping or export authorization documents that falsely indicated that the end user of the items would be located in Colombia.

In June 2009, Monsieur sent an e-mail to the undercover agent and provided a purchase order for F-5 fighter jet parts from a front company for an organization known as Trast Aero Space, located in Kyrgyzstan. The order requested that the parts be located by the undercover agent and illegally shipped to Iran via Saudi Arabia.

The following month, Monsieur allegedly contacted the undercover agent indicating that about $110,000 had been wired from Dubai to a U.S. bank account as payment for the parts. He also ensured that he would deposit a $300,000 down payment for two F-5 fighter jet engines. In August 2009, Monsieur requested information from the undercover agent about his contact in Colombia for forwarding the aircraft parts from Colombia to Saudi Arabia.

“The facts alleged in this indictment underscore the global reach of Iranian procurement networks and the international arms traffickers who help supply them. This case also highlights the importance of keeping restricted U.S. weapons technology out of their grasp,” said Deputy Attorney General Ogden. “I applaud the many agents, analysts and prosecutors who worked tirelessly to bring about this important arrest.”

John Morton, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary said, “Those who seek to illegally send dangerous weapons to Iran will never quite know whether the ‘merchant’ they’re dealing with is actually the long arm of the law.”