US Blacklists Spanish Arms Dealer; GD Caught in Fray

A Spanish contractor importing night vision equipment intended for the Spanish Marine Corps and police agencies instead was illegally reselling the systems to security companies in Spain, the US State Department charged late Thursday.
In legal documents filed by the agency, several companies under his control are accused of violating International Traffic in Arms Regulations and resale of defense equipment.
Most of the night vision systems originated with small US contractors who were not accused of being involved in the resale activity, but in a wrinkle, a subsidiary of General Dynamics was apparently involved with one of the illegal deals.
The State Department said that General Dynamics-Santa Barbara Systems (GD-SBS) served as the middleman for a 2009 deal that saw night vision devices (NVDs) sold to Spanish security company Segur Iberica, by, Elint.
The State Department hasn’t taken any legal action against General Dynamics, and the documents detailing the transaction include GD-SBS’ defense that the company didn’t know the deal was illegal, and that the alleged conspirators in the transaction convinced them it was legal.
General Dynamics bought Santa Barbara Systems from the Spanish government in 2001, and the unit currently operates as part of the company’s European Land Systems division.
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