Berkshire Hathaway settling alleged Iran sanctions violations for $4.1M

Berkshire Hathaway is expected to pay more than $4.1 million to settle allegations that a Turkish subsidiary of the company may have violated U.S. sanctions against Iran, the Treasury Department announced on Tuesday. 

Treasury said that Iscar Turkey exported $383,443 worth of cutting tools and related inserts to two third-party Turkish distributors knowing they would be used for resale to Iranian end-users that included the government.

The Turkish subsidiary exported 144 shipments of the tools between December 2012 and January 2016, according to the department, and took steps to hide the transactions such as paying in cash and not disclosing the deals to its parent company. Berkshire voluntarily self-disclosed the violations on behalf of its Turkish subsidiary, the department said. 

The Hill has reached out to Berkshire Hathaway for comment.  

The penalties come as the Trump administration exerts pressure on Iran via sanctions in order to push the Islamic republic toward negotiations over its nuclear program and prevent the country from financing military actions in the Middle East. 

Earlier this month, the administration imposed sanctions on at least 18 banks, an effort which raised concerns about blocking humanitarian efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.