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The FBI has offered a $15 million reward for the capture of a woman who is on the World's Most Wanted list.
It concerns Chinese citizen Liu Baoxia, also known as Emily Liu, accused of smuggling American technology into Iran for nearly 20 years.
Liu, born in 1981, is suspected of leading, for almost 20 years, a network of trafficking electronic components with military applications, evading export controls imposed on the Iranian Republic.
With the reward set by the FBI, Liu has surpassed Osama bin Laden, whose capture carried a maximum reward of $5 million, by at least $10 million.
Along with three associates, Li Yongxin (also known as Emma Lee), Yung Yiu Wa (also known as Stephen Yung), and Zhong Yanlai (Sydney Chung), he allegedly used front companies in China to purchase American technology and ship it to companies affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iran.
The components were allegedly used to produce drones, ballistic missile systems and other weapons for military use, including drones and missiles that were later sold to governments and armed groups in countries such as Russia, Sudan and Yemen.
According to US authorities, the four Chinese fugitives provided false information about the actual end user of the products, leading some US companies to believe that the shipments were destined for China.
In reality, the components were allegedly sent to Chinese front companies and then redirected to Iran-linked companies, including Shiraz Electronics Industries (SEI), Rayan Roshd Afzar, and their associates.
The State Department said the IRGC and the Iranian Ministry of Defense, which is responsible for the country’s weapons development, regularly use front companies to circumvent sanctions and international trade controls. Technology illegally acquired by the U.S. has been integrated into weapons systems that are now being used in attacks on Israel in the ongoing conflict that began with Israel’s Operation Lion Rising.
Formal charges against Liu and her associates, including conspiracy and violation of export laws, were announced in January 2024. According to authorities, the four individuals are located in Iran and Asia: Tehran, Shiraz, Bandar Abbas, Beijing, and the Kowloon district of Hong Kong.
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