The U.S. Department of State announced a reward of up to $15 million on last Wednesday for information leading to the arrest of a Chinese woman and her three alleged accomplices accused of smuggling U.S. technology to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) over a period spanning nearly two decades.
Baoxia Liu, also known as Emily Liu, is identified as the alleged ringleader in the smuggling network, along with associates Li Yongxin (Emma Lee), Yung Yiu Wa (Stephen Yung), and Zhong Yanlai (Sydney Chung), according to the State Department. Federal charges against the four, including conspiracy, were unsealed in January 2024.
Beginning as early as 2007, Liu and her co-defendants allegedly used front companies in China to misrepresent the end-users of sensitive U.S.-origin electronic components, enabling the export of thousands of items to Iran-linked entities, the State Department said. Those entities include Shiraz Electronics Industries, Rayan Roshd Afzar, and other affiliates connected to the IRGC and Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).
The components in question, which have military applications, were described by U.S. officials as suitable for use in the production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), ballistic missile systems, and other weapons.
"The IRGC funds its terrorist activities - in part - through sales of military equipment, including UAVs, or drones," the State Department stated, adding, "The IRGC has financed numerous terrorist attacks and activities globally, including via its external proxies such as Hamas, Hizballah, and Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq."
The Department's Rewards for Justice program, which is administered by the Diplomatic Security Service, is offering the reward for information leading to the disruption of the IRGC's financial mechanisms and the capture of Liu and her network.
Liu and Chung have active federal arrest warrants and have been added to the FBI's "Most Wanted" list. The State Department listed known locations for the accused individuals in Tehran, Shiraz, Bandar Abbas, Beijing, and Hong Kong.
The department stated, "As a result, a vast amount of dual-use U.S.-origin products with military capabilities have been exported from the United States to IRGC-linked companies Shiraz Electronics Industries (SEI), Rayan Roshd Afzar, and their affiliates, in violation of U.S. sanctions and export control laws and regulations."
The IRGC and MODAFL "have utilized the U.S.-controlled technology to develop and manufacture arms and weapons systems, including UAVs, that are sold to governments and groups in allied countries such as Russia, Sudan, and Yemen," according to the State Department.
The announcement coincided with broader geopolitical tensions, including recent U.S. strikes against Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen and Israel's renewed military actions against Hamas. The IRGC-Qods Force and its affiliates, designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the U.S., have played a key role in supporting such groups, Washington says.
President Donald Trump, who ordered the latest strikes, also confirmed he sent a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei offering direct negotiations to deter Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
