RICHARD CHICHAKLI SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS FOR SANCTIONS VIOLATIONS

Richard Ammar Chichakli, a Syrian-American CPA who was a former partner of Viktor Bout, has been sentenced to five years in Federal Prison, for IEEPA violations, which occurred when Chichakli, himself an OFAC Specially-Designated National, together with co-defendant Viktor Bout, sought to purchase commercial aircraft, in the United States, from American companies. The defendant was also sentenced to two years of Supervised Release, was ordered to forfeit $1.7m, and pay a Special Assessment of $900.

The defendant was convicted of:
IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) Conspiracy
Money Laundering Conspiracy
Wire Fraud
Wire Fraud Conspiracy

The sentencing judge reportedly characterized him as a man shrouded in mystery, with passports "so filled with immigration stamps that they looked like a sheet of Rachmaninoff's music."He has indicated that he intends to appeal his conviction and sentence.

Chichakli was extradited from Australia, where he was living under an alias, while wanted in the United States. He was identified and arrested after he applied for a law enforcement position, which required that he be fingerprinted. Viktor Bout, who is also a co-defendant in the case, cannot be tried, because he was extradited to the US, from Thailand, on other charges.