WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc agreed to pay $4.14 million to settle allegations that a Turkish subsidiary may have violated U.S. sanctions against Iran, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday.
The Treasury said Iscar Kesici Takim Ticareti ve Imalati Limited Sirket, also known as Iscar Turkey, sold cutting tools and related inserts to two Turkish distributors, knowing they would be shipped to a distributor in Iran for resale, including to Iran’s government.
Iscar Turkey’s sales violated Berkshire’s compliance policies, and comprised 144 shipments between December 2012 and January 2016, the Treasury Department said.
Berkshire did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iscar Turkey is a unit of IMC International Metalworking Cos. Berkshire paid $4 billion for 80% of Israel-based IMC in 2006, and paid $2.05 billion for the remainder in 2013.
Reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Franklin Paul and Jonathan Oatis