02/01/08
DEFENSE NEWS
U.S. Citizen in Singapore Accused of Selling Military Hardware to Iran
By WENDELL MINNICK
Laura Wang-Woodford, a U.S. citizen and director of Singapore-based Monarch Aviation Pte Ltd, has been arraigned on a 20-count federal indictment for allegedly exporting components for Chinook helicopters from the U.S. to Singapore and then to Iran in violation of the International Emergency Powers Act, after identifying them as commercial aviation components.
“Specifically, the defendant illegally exported vane assemblies and bevel gears, which are designed for Chinook military helicopters,” according to the indictment.
She is also accused of selling commercial aircraft components to Iran. To further complicate the case, at the time of her arrest in December after arriving at San Francisco International Airport, she was carrying two China National Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp. catalogs advertising surface-to-air missiles and rocket launchers.
Her husband, U.K. citizen Brian Woodford, is still wanted for questioning. Both are being accused of selling sensitive military hardware to Iran for more than 16 years.
