DHL to pay $9.4 million to settle shipping dispute

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration announced Thursday that DHL has agreed to pay the government $9.4 million to settle a dispute that the company made shipments to Iran, Sudan and Syria in violation of U.S. embargoes.

The Treasury Department alleged that the company, which is part of Deutsche Post DHL, based in Bonn, Germany, made more than 300 shipments from the United States to Iran and Sudan between 2002 and 2007 in violation of U.S. embargoes with those countries. The department also alleged that the company failed to keep records of certain shipments to Iran between 2002 and 2006.

The Commerce Department, meanwhile, alleged that the company, among other things, violated export restrictions in eight instances when it made shipments to Syria between June and September 2004.

U.S. provisions prohibit shipments of most goods to Iran, Sudan and Syria.