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UPS discloses shipment to Iranian embassy in Finland

By
Nov 7, 2013

UPS has acknowledged it inadvertently let a shipment of printer cartridges reach the Iranian embassy in Finland, violating a U.S. Treasury regulation.

Sandy Springs-based UPS said a customer in Sweden shipped the package to the Iranian embassy in Helsinki in February. UPS at the time intercepted and locked down the shipment at its facility in Finland, then filed a report with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control as required, according to a disclosure in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Office of Foreign Asset Control administers U.S. sanctions against Iran.

But on June 26, “the package was inadvertently released in violation of UPS trade compliance policies and procedures and delivered to the Iranian embassy in Helsinki, Finland,” UPS said in the filing.

UPS said the shipment contained only printer cartridges and generated $35 in revenue, with no profit.

“We’ve enhanced our procedures so this doesn’t happen again,” UPS spokesman Andy McGowan said, adding that the company was not fined.

Competitor FedEx made a similar disclosure this year that a consolidator tendered shipments of documents, books, magazines, CDs, toys, nuts and/or candy to FedEx Express for delivery to Iran embassies and a consulate in several overseas countries. FedEx also said it handling of the shipments was inadvertent.

About the Author

As business team lead, Kelly Yamanouchi edits and writes business stories. She graduated from Harvard and has a master's degree from Northwestern.

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