Turkish business owner charged with illegally trafficking Wisconsin products to the Iranian navy

Bruce Vielmetti | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wisconsin-made outboard engines, boat generators and marine propulsion systems were illegally routed to the Iranian navy with the help of a Turkish businessman, according to an indictment that landed him in Milwaukee federal court Monday.

Resit Tavan, 40, of Istanbul, was arrested in Romania in June on an international warrant stemming from his indictment in Milwaukee. After a lengthy extradition, he was arraigned on Monday and ordered detained without bail.

His attorney, Nejla Lane, said Tavan pleaded not guilty to all charges and wants to clear his name. She said she plans to seek his release on bond in coming weeks. She said members of the Turkish consulate in Chicago were also present and have been trying offer Tavan assistance.

He had never been to the United States before, Lane said, and denied knowing any of the equipment was intended for the Iranian military.

Tavan, his company The Ramor Group and a manager there, Fulya Oguzturk, 54, are charged with conspiracy to illegally export to Iran, smuggling and money laundering.

According to the indictment, the defendants failed to obtain the special licenses needed to get around trade embargoes against Iran in place since 1995.Instead, the defendants negotiated the export of the engines and generators to Turkey, then re-exported to Iran. In 2013, Tavan signed an agreement to buy two Germantown-based Seven Marine 557 outboard engines, worth more than $100,000 each, through a commercial brokerage, representing that the engines would be used in Turkey.

The indictment also describes the sale of a some Kohler Marine generators in 2015 intended for use on an Iranian boat designed to include covert missile launching tubes.

The other export, also in 2015, involved marine power propulsion equipment from Arneson, a subsidiary of Racine-based Twin Disc.

In all, the Ramor Group sent more than $312,000 from Turkey to the U.S. companies, according to the indictment.