Five years for North Korean missile deal that collapsed over price, DOJ says

A Bosnian arms broker received a 60-month sentence after pleading guilty over an attempted purchase of portable anti-aircraft missiles from North Korea.

A Bosnian national was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to export and sanctions violations involving an attempted North Korean missile deal, the Justice Department announced on 14 October. DOJ identified him as Sasa Micev, 43.

According to the department’s account of court documents, Micev worked with a New Mexico-based co-conspirator and others to broker the purchase of SA-18 Igla portable surface-to-air missiles without the required U.S. Treasury authorisation.

DOJ said Micev supplied pricing information and took part in efforts to obtain the missiles through falsified documents during 2020. Later that year, he and a co-conspirator travelled to Ankara to complete the transaction; the sale collapsed after a price dispute with the North Koreans.

Micev pleaded guilty to violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and North Korean sanctions regulations, DOJ said. Homeland Security Investigations offices in Albuquerque and Phoenix investigated the case.

The sentencing and case history are reported from DOJ’s announcement. The judgment and plea documents have not been independently inspected here. The announced missile transaction fell through; this report establishes no completed transfer.