Congress Investigates Chinese Thermal Optics Provider for Evading Weapons Sanctions

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A partisan congressional committee has formally asked the U.S. Treasury and Commerce departments to investigate allegations that one of the leading providers of thermal sights and viewers in the U.S. is inappropriately linked to a Chinese company that’s been sanctioned for selling products to the Russian military.

The Chinese company, Yantai iRay Technology Co., Ltd., was sanctioned last year by the U.S. government for allegedly supplying arms that Russia used in its conflict with the Ukraine. Sanctions handed down by the U.S. Treasury Department last May required Yantai iRay to divest itself of any entities doing business in the United States.

But the Democrat House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the U.S. and the CCP sent a letter to the secretaries of Treasury and Commerce last month requesting both agencies investigate whether Yantai iRay Technology “may be committing sanctions violations via a network of subsidiaries and directly related companies in the United States.”

Among those alleged subsidiaries is Texas-based iRayUSA, a leading provider of thermals to the hog and predator hunting markets in the U.S.

iRayUSA’s executives vigorously deny the allegations from the House committee.

“I can assure you that there is no inappropriate relationship between iRayUSA and Yantai iRay Technology Co.,” says iRayUSA CEO Tyler Adair. “Prior to the sanctions, there was a customer-vendor relationship with Yantai iRay. When sanctions were imposed on Yantai iRay, we put processes in place to ensure we were in compliance.”

Adair says there is no subsidiary or legal relationship between his company and the Chinese firm and claims the House committee’s action is motivated by competitors within the thermal industry.

Products distributed by iRayUSA, including its Nocpix and InfiRay Outdoor brands, are among the most popular consumer-grade thermals on the market. The federal sanctions and further congressional oversight could have disproportionate impacts on the fast-growing sector because only a handful of manufacturers make the sensors and cores that power thermal devices. Prior to sanctions, Yantai iRay provided sensors to iRayUSA’s brands as well as many of its competitors.

Last year’s sanctions disrupted the supply chain and caused some brands to look elsewhere for the components. The sanctions also widened a rift in the thermal community between brands that import components, or even entire units, from Asia versus those that manufacture either all or parts of their devices in the U.S. The offshore units tend to be much less expensive than the American-made products, which are generally supplied to U.S. military contracts and aren’t readily available to predator and hog hunters, the main buyers of thermal devices in the U.S.

The House Select Committee claims “government filings along with other publicly available information strongly suggest that iRayUSA’s contention is false and that it, along with InfiRay Outdoor, Visir Inc. (brand name RIX Optics), and Inlumen Technologies (brand name Nocpix) may be violating U.S. sanctions by continuing to sell and distribute iRay products in the United States.”

However a committee staffer was unable to produce documents to support the claim of sanctions violations.

Adair flatly disputes the allegations.

While allegations of inappropriate connections between Yantai iRay and U.S.-based thermal providers remain unsubstantiated, the Chinese and American companies share similar logos and brand iconography. The root name “iRay” has further sown brand confusion, acknowledges iRayUSA’s Adair.

“Just because the [companies’] logos are similar does not mean there is a relationship,” says Adair. “One is not doing business with the other. In fact Yantai iRay is not doing business with anyone. But it’s convenient for our competitors to confuse the names iRay and InfiRay.”

It’s unclear how the House oversight committee’s interest in the thermal industry might be resolved. Congressional staffers gave Treasury and Commerce departments until April 11 to supply the committee with “a briefing on any information available to the departments regarding iRay and its subsidiaries.” As of yesterday, that information hadn’t been provided, says a committee staffer.

Adair doesn’t expect any information to be forthcoming.

“In addition to contacting OFAC [federal Office of Foreign Assets Control], we have sent letters to our congressman, U.S. Department of Treasury, and U.S. Department of Commerce encouraging them to visit our company headquarters in Lewisville, Texas,” he says. “We’re an open book, and have had no association with Yantai iRay since sanctions were imposed.”

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Source: https://www.outdoorlife.com/gear/congress-calls-for-thermal-optics-investiagtion/