Treasury settles with Wisconsin company over Italian subsidiary's sales to Iran

The U.S. Treasury Department settled a sanctions case against Rice Lake Weighing Systems, a Wisconsin company, for $60,764 over eight violations involving its Italian subsidiary, Dini Argeo.

Between July 2019 and November 2021, Dini Argeo exported weighing equipment to a distributor in the United Arab Emirates with the understanding that the goods would eventually reach an end user in Iran, violating U.S. Sanctions. Treasury classified the violations as "voluntarily self-disclosed and non-egregious."

Rice Lake acquired Dini Argeo in 2016 and notified the subsidiary in 2018 about legal changes affecting Iran dealings. The department found the notification inadequate, however, noting it lacked specific compliance instructions and an Italian translation. Rice Lake did not verify that Dini Argeo understood or followed the restrictions.

After the notice, Dini Argeo halted direct sales to Iranian customers but did "not appear to have understood that selling goods indirectly to Iran was also prohibited," According to Treasury.

In 2021, Rice Lake discovered its products were still being shipped from Italy to an Iranian company. The parent company conducted an internal investigation and reported the matter to Treasury, a disclosure that influenced the settlement amount.

Treasury emphasized that U.S. Companies must ensure foreign subsidiaries maintain effective sanctions controls and that all employees understand how such restrictions apply to their work. The agency stated in an enforcement notice that "U.S. companies should ensure their foreign subsidiaries implement effective, risk-based controls to mitigate any sanctions risks," Cautioning that "misunderstandings can give rise to liability, and enforcement action may be appropriate where reasonable steps were not taken to avoid them."