Amazon Says May Face Penalties For Running Afoul Of Iran Sanctions

Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday that it made sales to “certain individuals and entities” covered by American sanctions against Iran.

Amazon said it does not plan to do business with the accounts going forward and that the company is working to enhance processes to identify transactions covered by U.S. sanctions. The retailer reported the orders to the federal government and said it will fully comply with reviews of the transactions, “which may result in the imposition of penalties.”

Orders In Question

The Seattle-based retailer said it processed and delivered orders between January 2012 and December 2016 for the following customers:

• A $50 order for an Iranian embassy located outside Iran.
• A $1,300 order for “an individual designated under Executive Order 13224.” The post-9/11 executive order, signed by former President George W. Bush, blocks transactions with terrorists and their supporters.
• A $2,400 order for an entity “owned or controlled by the Iranian government.”
• A $250 order for “an individual who may have been acting for an entity designated under Executive Order 13382 and owned or controlled by the Iranian government.” This executive order, also signed by Bush, aims to freeze the assets of and financially isolate “proliferators” of weapons of mass destruction and their supporters, according to the State Department.

The items sold that may have violated the Iran sanctions included books, media, apparel, home and kitchen items, jewelry, office items, toys, consumer electronics, software, health and beauty items, pet products and lawn and patio items, Amazon said in the 10-K filing.