A Bosnian national was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to federal export and sanctions violations by conspiring and attempting to broker the sale of Man Portable Air Defense Systems, which are anti-aircraft missiles.
“U.S. sanctions mean little if those who knowingly evade them face no consequences,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison for the District of New Mexico. “This defendant helped carry out an international scheme to conduct business that U.S. law prohibited, and this sentence holds him accountable for his role. I am proud of the investigators and prosecutors whose hard work and dedication brought this case to sentencing in New Mexico. Their commitment to seeing this prosecution through is a testament to the caliber of the people who serve in this district.”
“Those who knowingly attempt to circumvent U.S. export controls and international sanctions to facilitate the illicit trafficking of military weapons pose a serious threat to our national security and global stability,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ryan G. McRae of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso. “Their willingness to profit from prohibited weapons transactions demonstrates blatant disregard for the law. HSI aggressively pursues those who traffic in restricted military technology and hold them accountable for their actions.”
According to court documents, Sasa Micev, 43, a citizen of Bosnia, is an international arms dealer. Micev worked with a co-conspirator based in New Mexico and others to violate and evade restrictions imposed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the North Korea Sanctions Regulations by brokering the purchase of SA-18 Igla portable surface-to-air missiles from North Korea without the required license or approvals from the Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control.
On multiple occasions in 2020, Micev and a co-conspirator discussed unlawfully acquiring the Igla missiles and Micev provided pricing information, participated in efforts to obtain the items through falsified documentation, and worked to procure the weapons from North Korea despite knowing that such transactions were prohibited under U.S. and international laws.
In late 2020, Micev and the co-conspirator traveled to Ankara, Turkey to meet and complete the sale of the Igla missiles. However, after a price dispute with the North Koreans, the sale fell through.
Micev pleaded guilty to violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the North Korean Sanctions Regulations.
HSI’s Albuquerque and Phoenix Field Offices investigated this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tavo Hall and Holland Kastrin for the District of New Mexico are prosecuting the case with the assistance of the Trial Attorney Maria Fedor of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.