DHL will pay the federal government $9.4 million to settle a dispute involving shipments the company made to Iran, Sudan, and Syria that violated U.S. embargoes, according to the Associated Press. The Obama administration made the announcement on Aug. 6.
The Treasury Department alleges that DHL, which is part of Deutsche Post DHL, based in Bonn, Germany, made more than 300 shipments from the U.S. to Iran and Sudan between 2002 and 2007 in violation of U.S. embargoes with those countries. The department also alleges that DHL failed to maintain records of certain shipments to Iran between 2002 and 2006.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department alleges that DHL violated export restrictions on eight occasions when it made shipments to Syria between June and September 2004. U.S. provisions prohibit shipments of most goods to Iran, Sudan and Syria.
Gerard Hempstead, president of Hempstead Consulting and a former vice president for DHL, says the “new” DHL is promoting itself as the “export expert” –the carrier of choice for international transactions. But it’s not a good sign if the government feels that DHL “did not follow the simplest of export restrictions,” Hempstead says.
This type of situation typically results in additional scrutiny by the government on a carriers export operations, Hempstead explains. And that can add cost and or delay shipments.
That’s the last thing DHL needs right now. The courier on July 23 moved its exports express hub from Wilmington, OH, back to Cincinnati. This move, Hempstead says, “has caused thousands of shipments to be delayed both due to missed connections and delayed flights.”