Northwest Timber Sold To Libya?

An Austrian woman has been charged with breaking a trade embargo against Libya by selling the North African country more than $850,000 worth of lumber purchased from a Portland company.

Helga Euler flew to Portland Wednesday for arraignment on charges that she shipped southern yellow pine to Libya in 1993 after buying it through Patrick Lumber Co., a Portland trading company.

Euler was arrested Monday at the Atlanta airport on a stopover between Europe and the Caribbean, Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Gorder said.

She was arraigned in Atlanta on charges of conspiracy, violating the embargo and money laundering.

Tom Carstensen, Patrick Lumber vice president, said, “We’ve been cooperating with the government for quite some time,” but refused to elaborate.

He referred questions to the company’s lawyer, Philip Lowthian of Portland, who declined to comment.

Gorder said the operation was not considered a “sting” but the investigation dated back to early last year. He would not talk about the role played by Patrick Lumber.

He said Euler could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of violating the Libyan embargo. Money-laundering charges can bring up to 20 years and a $250,000 fine.

The federal complaint outlines an investigation by a U.S. Commerce Department agent alleging that Euler approached Patrick Lumber in early 1993 about purchasing some lumber for export.

The sale involved two separate shipments of southern yellow pine Euler purchased from Patrick for $877,100. The shipments made in July and December 1993, left Mobile, Ala., for Trieste, Italy. The lumber was then shipped to Libya, according to the complaint.

Company employees also told investigators that Euler asked Patrick Lumber to pay a Liechtenstein bank account for a damaged shipment, but the company paid Euler rather than reimburse an account linked to Libya.