British man sentenced over plans to smuggle generator from US to Iran

Colin Fisher pleaded guilty on two counts, officials say

Fisher, originally from Dundee, was sentenced at Pensacola federal court (Wikimedia Commons)

A UK citizen has been sentenced to two and a half years in US federal prison after attempting to smuggle about £368,000 worth of industrial equipment from America to Iran.

Colin Fisher, 45, who was sentenced in Pensacola federal court, Florida, was also convicted of breaking an embargo.

Fisher pleaded guilty in September to violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and to attempted smuggling in relation to exporting power generating equipment to Iran, according to court records.

“The Iranian embargo is directly related to the national security of the United States, and by attempting to evade that embargo Fisher and his fellow conspirators placed this nation directly at risk,” US Attorney for the northern district of Florida, Lawrence Keefe, said in a statement. 

“It’s appalling to think that someone would place personal financial gain above the safety of the nation, but this case shows we will pursue and punish those who try,” he added. 

Fisher was arrested by federal agents in August when he flew from Dubai to Pensacola to seal the deal, prosecutors said. Fisher, an engineer and father-of-three, has worked for nearly three years to violate the Iranian embargo by attempting to export a Solar Mars 90 S turbine core engine and parts from the US to Iran, officials added.

Law enforcement authorities seized the turbine before it was sent to a conspirator linked to an Iranian energy company. The engine, which was valued just below £400,000, could be used to provide energy to the oil fields of Iran, authorities said.

James Meharg, CEO and president of Pensacola-based Turbine Resources International, was previously convicted of conspiring with Fisher to export a large turbine and parts from the US to Iran. He was sentenced to three years and four months in federal prison.

The US has a longstanding ban on trade with Iran, first issued in 1979, to prevent the sale of technology to what it calls the “rogue state”.

Additional reporting by Associated Press