Iranian 'secret agent' charged in Germany
German prosecutors said yesterday they are bringing charges against an alleged Iranian "secret agent" accused of illegally procuring weapons equipment.
From 2002-6 the man, identified only as Saeed Sadeghi E. in a prosecutors' statement, is accused of obtaining in Germany around 600,000 euros (847,000 dollars) worth of raw materials, machinery and spare parts.
The items were for Iran's Defence Industries Organisation, described by German authorities as responsible for state armaments production and using "secret service methods" to acquire goods and information from abroad.
As exporting such items is banned, the 52-year-old is alleged to have set up a dummy company under a false name in Switzerland which he used to order from German suppliers while all the time still living near Duesseldorf.
He duped the firms into accepting orders by saying that they were meant for his Swiss firm or to sell on to reputable customers in other countries outside the European Union, prosecutors said.
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