On 11 September 2017, Bright Lights USA, Inc. (“Bright Lights”) of Barrington, New Jersey, reached an administrative settlement with the United States (“US“) and agreed to pay USD 400,000, in order to resolve alleged violations of the Arms Export Controls Act (“AECA“) and the the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR“). According to the US State Department, Bright Lights engaged in several unauthorised exports of ITAR-controlled defence articles to foreign persons in a number of countries. Bright Lights unauthorised exports also included the transfer of ITAR-controlled technical data to foreign persons in the People’s Republic of China, a country to which the US restricts exports of defence articles and defence services.
Bright Lights manufactures and distributes spare parts, such as rubber stoppers and seal assemblies, to the US Army, Marine Corp, Navy, and Air Force, as well as turbine parts for industry and military purposes.
According to the settlement agreement, Bright Lights fines for the alleged violations could have been more severe if Bright Lights had not voluntary self-disclosed the matter and if it had not cooperated with the US State Department during the investigation. Further, Bright Lights also made significant improvements to its export compliance program that reduce the likelihood of future violations.
The official US State Department media notice can be found here and the full settlement agreement can be found here.