Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathway Settles for $4.1M with US Treasury
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has agreed to pay $4.1 million to settle its potential civil liability for 144 apparent violations of Iran sanctions by a rogue subsidiary, the US Treasury said in a statement on Tuesday.
The billionaire investor’s company acquired Iscar, an Israeli maker of metal-cutting tools, in 2006. Iscar Turkey, the group’s Turkish division, exported 144 shipments of cutting tools and related items worth a total of $383,000 to two third-party Turkish distributors, Treasury officials said.
Several of Iscar Turkey’s senior managers knew the goods would be shipped to a distributor in Iran and sold to Iranian users including some linked to the Iranian government, potentially violating US sanctions on Iran, the Treasury said. They also bought goods made by other Berkshire subsidiaries to fill the orders, the government department added.
