Asher Karni
Encyclopedia
Asher Karni is an Hungarian
-born Israel
i citizen and South African businessman. He is, perhaps, best known for his financial involvement and support for both the Pakistan
and Israeli nuclear programs
. A collaborator and associate of Abdul Qadeer Khan
, he considered one of the prime suspects connected with the Khan Network.
, South Africa
in the mid-1980s to work for Bnei Akiva
, a Jewish Zionist youth movement
. He remained in Cape Town
and began work as a salesman, selling and buying electronic devices for a local electronics company.
of being part of a conspiracy to sell stolen nuclear material
. He was arrested while on holiday with his family in Denver, Colorado
. Chief Judge Thomas F. Hogan ordered Karni released on US$100,000 bail to Silver Spring
, Maryland
, having agreed to waive diplomatic immunity and wear an electronic surveillance device, but the US has moved to have that ruling overturned. Karni is now imprisoned in FCI
Fort Dix, New Jersey
.
s to Humayun Khan
, a Pakistan
i man believed connected to a larger terrorist group in Jammu
and Kashmir
. The nuclear black market is believed to be very tightly knit, and to have been headed by Abdul Qadeer Khan
, the father of the Pakistani nuclear program, who now sits accused by the IAEA and Pakistan having sold nuclear material to Iran
and Korea
for nearly two decades.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
-born Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i citizen and South African businessman. He is, perhaps, best known for his financial involvement and support for both the Pakistan
Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction
Pakistan began focusing on nuclear weapons development in January 1972 under the leadership of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who delegated the program to the Chairman of PAEC Munir Ahmad Khan...
and Israeli nuclear programs
Israel and weapons of mass destruction
Israel is widely believed to possess weapons of mass destruction, and to be one of four nuclear-armed countries not recognized as a Nuclear Weapons State by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...
. A collaborator and associate of Abdul Qadeer Khan
Abdul Qadeer Khan
Abdul Qadeer Khan , also known in Pakistan as Mohsin-e-Pakistan , D.Eng, Sc.D, HI, NI , FPAS; more widely known as Dr. A. Q...
, he considered one of the prime suspects connected with the Khan Network.
Early Life and Business
Karni originally came to Cape TownCape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in the mid-1980s to work for Bnei Akiva
Bnei Akiva
Bnei Akiva is the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 37 countries. It was established in Mandate Palestine in 1929.-History:...
, a Jewish Zionist youth movement
Zionist youth movement
A Zionist youth movement is an organization formed for Jewish children and adolescents for educational, social, and ideological development, including a belief in Jewish nationalism as represented in the State of Israel...
. He remained in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
and began work as a salesman, selling and buying electronic devices for a local electronics company.
Nuclear Profileration
In early 2004, Karni was accused by the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
of being part of a conspiracy to sell stolen nuclear material
Nuclear fuel
Nuclear fuel is a material that can be 'consumed' by fission or fusion to derive nuclear energy. Nuclear fuels are the most dense sources of energy available...
. He was arrested while on holiday with his family in Denver, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. Chief Judge Thomas F. Hogan ordered Karni released on US$100,000 bail to Silver Spring
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, having agreed to waive diplomatic immunity and wear an electronic surveillance device, but the US has moved to have that ruling overturned. Karni is now imprisoned in FCI
FCI
FCI is a three-letter abbreviation that can refer to:* Facility Condition Index, a benchmark to compare the relative condition of a group of facilities* Factors Chain International, a global network of factoring companies* Federal Correctional Institution...
Fort Dix, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
Involvement in Khan Network
Karni is accused of selling 200 triggered spark gapSpark gap
A spark gap consists of an arrangement of two conducting electrodes separated by a gap usually filled with a gas such as air, designed to allow an electric spark to pass between the conductors. When the voltage difference between the conductors exceeds the gap's breakdown voltage, a spark forms,...
s to Humayun Khan
Humayun Khan
Dr. Humayun Khan is a former High Commissioner from Pakistan to India and United Kingdom.. Presently he is serving as the Chairman of Institute of Rural Management .-Family and Education:...
, a Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i man believed connected to a larger terrorist group in Jammu
Jammu
Jammu , also known as Duggar, is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...
and Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
. The nuclear black market is believed to be very tightly knit, and to have been headed by Abdul Qadeer Khan
Abdul Qadeer Khan
Abdul Qadeer Khan , also known in Pakistan as Mohsin-e-Pakistan , D.Eng, Sc.D, HI, NI , FPAS; more widely known as Dr. A. Q...
, the father of the Pakistani nuclear program, who now sits accused by the IAEA and Pakistan having sold nuclear material to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
for nearly two decades.