Overview
- Federal agents arrested Shamim Mafi, 44, at LAX on Saturday night as the Woodland Hills resident prepared to fly to Istanbul.
- Prosecutors charged her under 50 U.S.C. § 1705, a core U.S. sanctions law, alleging she arranged Iranian‑made drones, bombs, bomb fuses and millions of rounds of ammunition for Sudan’s defense ministry.
- The unsealed complaint details a contract worth more than $70 million for Mohajer‑6 armed drones and a transfer of 55,000 bomb fuses, alongside ammunition deals that included 10 million rounds and a proposed 240 million more.
- Investigators say she worked through an Oman‑registered firm, Atlas International Business, with payments routed through Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to hide the transactions from U.S. oversight.
- Court records cite 62 phone contacts with an officer from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence between December 2022 and June 2025, while Mafi denies being directed by Tehran and faces up to 20 years if convicted, with an initial court appearance set for Monday in Los Angeles.