Under a plea agreement with the Justice Department, Balli Aviation will pay $15m in criminal and civil fines and be placed on corporate probation. The penalty marks one of the largest fines paid for an export violation.

According to its website, Balli Group is headquartered in the UK and has sales exceeding $1bn. It is run by chairman Vahid Alaghband, and joint chief executives Nasser Alaghband and Hossein Adle. Lord Lamont, who served as chancellor of the exchequer under Prime Minister John Major, is named on its website as a non-executive director.

Under the terms of the plea deal, both Balli Aviation and Balli Group were denied export privileges for five years, though the Justice Department said the penalty would be suspended if no more export violations occurred and the groups paid the civil penalty.