US officials are investigating a Dutch satellite communications company suspected of flouting US and EU sanctions slapped on states such as Myanmar, Iran and Syria, a Dutch daily said this week.
A secret report from the now bankrupt Imtech maritime group allegedly revealed "how extensive the illegal trade was" by its subsidiary Radio Holland, the De Telegraaf newspaper said.
The internal audit completed in February, months before Imtech declared bankruptcy, found 198 possible violations of sanctions imposed on the three countries as well as on Cuba and South Sudan.
There were allegedly 51 deliveries to "denied entities or persons" with whom US and EU companies are barred from doing business, the paper said.
Specifically, Radio Holland was allegedly trading with six blacklisted Iranian companies, five of which work in the oil industry.
A spokeswoman for Radio Holland told AFP the company had no comment on the allegations.
International sanctions have been placed on the five countries and targeted leaders for different reasons, including for supporting terror groups as well as for violating human rights.
Although the Imtech report did not specify when the violations occurred or what equipment had been sold, Radio Holland is believed to have supplied sensitive radio and navigation systems to different countries over several years, De Telegraaf said.
Sanctions on Iran are being eased after it ended a 12-year standoff with world powers and reached a July 14 deal on freezing and dismantling its suspect nuclear industry.
And while sanctions remain in place in war-torn South Sudan and Syria, they have also been gradually eased or lifted amid political changes in Myanmar and Cuba.
Radio Holland, which specialises in communications and navigation technology, employs some 2,400 people in 30 countries around the world. It was acquired by Imtech in 2006 for some 47 million euro.
Imtech declared bankruptcy in August and has since been sold off to different buyers. Radio Holland has been merged into the new Rotterdam-based RH Marine group.
(AFP)