A dual citizen of Pakistan and Canada, Mohammad Jawaid Aziz, also known as Jawaid Aziz Siddiqui and Jay Siddiqui, faces charges of conspiracy and violations related to U.S. export laws. The authorities arrested Siddiqui on March 21 in Washington while he was attempting to cross from Canada into the United States. He is detained and awaits transfer to Minnesota.
The indictment accuses Siddiqui of running an illicit procurement network from as early as 2003 until March 2019 through his Canadian firm, Diversified Technology Services. This network allegedly aimed to secure U.S. goods for banned entities in Pakistan linked to the nation's nuclear, missile, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle programs. The operation involved obtaining sensitive and restricted items from U.S. companies and allegedly disguising the actual end-users by using front companies and transshipping goods through other countries.
The charges against Siddiqui include conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and Export Control Reform Act, carrying a potential five-year prison term, and violation of the Export Control Reform Act, which could result in a 20-year sentence. The sentencing will consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Executive members from the Justice Department, including Sue J. Bai, Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI, and Aaron Tambrini from the Department of Commerce, jointly announced these charges.
“I am proud of the strong partnership between my office and the Justice Department’s National Security Division,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick. “We have no tolerance for defendants who violate U.S. export laws to send U.S.-origin goods to prohibited entities—here, entities in Pakistan associated with the country’s nuclear, missile, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) programs. Mohammad Aziz will now face federal justice here in Minnesota.”
The case involves investigations by Homeland Security Investigations Minneapolis, the FBI Minneapolis Field Office, and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security’s Chicago Field Office. Prosecutors include Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley Endicott for the District of Minnesota and Trial Attorney Nicholas Hunter from the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
The document emphasizes that an indictment is merely an allegation and that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.