Midway Arms Inc. Settles Charges of Illegal Exports

The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced that Midway Arms, Inc., (Midway) of Columbia, Missouri, has agreed to pay a $222,000 civil penalty to settle charges that it exported firearm scopes and mounts in violation of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) agreed to suspend $88,800 of the penalty for a period of one year and thereafter waive that amount contingent upon Midway not committing further violations during the suspension period.

BIS charged that, on 275 occasions between April 1999 and July 2001, Midway exported firearm scopes and mounts to Canada without the required export licenses. BIS also charged that, on 93 occasions between May 1999 and September 2002, Midway exported firearm scopes and mounts to Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Finland, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and Uruguay without the required export licenses.

Midway cooperated fully with the investigation.

Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Julie L. Myers commended Special Agent Dianne Zedde, formerly with the Chicago Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Wendy Hauser, for their efforts in this investigation.