A company director has been jailed for attempting to export military‑grade equipment to Hong Kong without the proper licences, according to HMRC and the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU).
A Notice to Exporters, published last week, said that Steven Gates, a 47-year old from Wakefield, had been convicted after attempting to export eight thermal imaging rifle sights to Hong Kong.
Gates, who was convicted under sections 68 and 167 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, “had misdescribed the items as ‘low‑value cameras’ to conceal their controlled status,” according to the Notice.
He received a two year and one month sentence at Leeds Crown Court earlier this month.
Edwige Hill, Deputy director of fraud investigation service at HMRC, said:
“This was a calculated attempt to bypass the UK’s strict licensing regime. Anyone seeking to export military items without a licence will be detected and brought to justice.”
Comment
Daniela Turiccki, Export Controls Advisory Practice lead at the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, said
"The Defence Industrial Strategy and the Defence Strategic Review both highlight the fundamental need to establish comprehensive understanding in dual-use and export controls across the country, with the government recently launching several initiatives to help strengthen enforcement transparency and deterrence.
"Understanding export controls is essential to preventing the unintentional transfer of sensitive goods, technologies, data, or expertise that could compromise national security or violate international regulations. Without clear awareness of these rules, organisations and individuals risk severe legal, financial, and reputational consequences.
"As the government intensifies and tightens enforcement, we are not only seeing exporters receiving maximum fines, but imprisonment for these violations. Serious export control negligence holds a maximum 10-year prison sentence in the UK."
