Firm that sent military designs to China to pay US up to US$27 million
- 3D Systems Corp agreed to settle with the US for illegally exporting drawings for spacecraft, among other violations
- Company also exported metal alloy powder to China without a licence, although it is restricted for national security and nuclear non-proliferation reasons
3D Systems Corp on Monday agreed to pay up to US$27 million to settle with the US for illegally exporting to China controlled design drawings for military electronics and spacecraft, among other violations.
Rock Hill, South Carolina-based 3D Systems, which provides 3D printing and other services to customers in the US and abroad, emailed design documents, blueprints and technical specification to Quickparts.com, Inc, its then subsidiary’s office in China for price quotes, the Commerce Department said.
The emails included design drawings for aerospace technology that required US export licences. It also illegally sent documents to Germany where it had a server for employee emails without the required licences.
Sending export-controlled blueprints for aerospace and military electronics to China is detrimental to US national security
“Sending export-controlled blueprints for aerospace and military electronics to China is detrimental to US national security,” Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod said.
Besides the Commerce Department, the company also settled with the US Department of Justice and the US Department of State.
The Justice Department settlement involves 3D’s improperly sending technical data to China in connection with Nasa and Department of Defence contracts, the US Attorney for the Northern District of Texas said in a statement.
Its settlement calls for US$2.27 million payable within 30 days, and another US$2.27 million it fails to pay at least that amount to the other agencies.
