U.S. officials say arrests could affect a pending deal on nuclear and space cooperation between the two nations.
By Bill Gertz
Two Indian nationals have been arrested on charges of illegally exporting U.S. missile technology to India in a case that U.S. officials say could affect a pending deal on nuclear and space cooperation between the two nations.
Parthasarathy Sudarshan, 46, and Mythili Gopal, 36, both of Simpsonville, S.C., were arrested March 23 based on a 15-count federal grand jury indictment in the District of Columbia unsealed Friday.
Mr. Sudarshan, head of a company called Cirrus Singapore, will be arraigned today in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson. Miss Gopal, an official with Cirrus USA, was released after her court appearance in South Carolina.
According to the indictment, the two conspired with at least two other Indians to circumvent the U.S. Arms Export Control Act between 2002 and 2006 by purchasing U.S. electronic components used in missiles, sending them to Singapore and then re-exporting them secretly to India’s missile and space-launch manufacturer.The items included Static Random Access Memory computer chips made in Phoenix that are designed to withstand extreme temperature changes and have applications for missile guidance systems. They were shipped without a required export license to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC), an Indian government manufacturer of space launchers and missiles, the indictment states.
One e-mail in the case quoted Mr. Sudarshan telling others involved in the case that “our intention is not to make profit on this order but to service VSSC.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20070402-113109-9123r.htm