But as youll see, hes not like any other owner of a big time American Sports franchise. Hes an adrenaline junkie with a few unusual toys. See . [gun clicking] and he owes some of his fame and fortune to a bevy of party girls. Frankly speaking, i like women. Coal has made jim rogers and his company rich, and thats why we were surprised to hear what this power baron has to say about what coal does to the environment. You know, there are a lot of people, many of them in your industry, many people that you probably know, who say that Global Warming is not a big problem. Its my judgment it is a problem. We need to go to work on it now. And its critical that we start to act in this country. But if its so critical, why is rogers still building new coalburning power plants . Welcome to 60 minutes on cnbc. Im steve kroft. Politics and business can be strange bedfellows. In this episode, we have a report on a billionaire walking a fine line between the russian government and american professional basketball. And later, a story about a coal executive grappling with a dirty little notsosecret problem. But first we look at companies who may be illegally doing business with iran. The Obama Administration has pushed for tough new sanctions against iran because of that countrys efforts to produce nuclear weapons. But as lesley stahl reported in 2010, iran is having no problems getting high tech materials and components through undertheradar middlemen who run small Trading Companies around the world, some based in cities right here in the United States. Are you a procurement agent for iran . [chortles] no, thats ridiculous. No. But of course thats sort of the implication of the case against you. Im nothing to do with iranian government or things like that at all. Mohammad vaghari, mitch to his friends, an iranian whos lived in the United States for 15 years, is facing up to 85 years in prison. He and his lawyers are preparing for his trial on charges that he conspired to send u. S. Technology to iran through a Trading Company he set up in his basement apartment in philadelphia. You are charged with trying to buy a centrifuge that could be used to make biological weapons, like anthrax. I dont know about that. Im not a biological expert to tell, you know thats in the affidavit and is part of. Sure. The charges against you . Yes. Thats what they say. He says his client for the centrifuge was a science lab at a university in dubai. But he says he never bought it. He only asked for its price. It was too expensive. You know, we couldnt afford such a thing. This is apparently why the fbi came to you, was over the centrifuge. Mmhmm. The salesperson who you spoke to got suspicious. Says he asked you all kinds of questions. He asked you for a shipping address that you wouldnt give him. I told them, we are a middleman. I just want to know how much is this. But this middleman fit a pattern a u. S. Based iranian with a small export company trying to send technology to dubai, which is a popular port for sending goods on to iran. The fbi then learned that vaghari was asked to buy a hydrophone that could be used to listen to submarines and laptops. You did end up sending three items to dubai. How sophisticated were the items . Very Common CollegeLab Equipment. Did they go to iran . Never, no. Youre sure of that . As far as i know, yes. The stuff was intended for dubai and ended up in dubai and stayed in dubai. Thats what i think. But in a search of his apartment, the fbi found emails asking him to make inquiries for the Pastor Institute and Tarbiat Modarres university. Both are based in tehran. And according to intelligence out of europe, both are trying to buy Lab Equipment in the west that could be used to produce biological weapons. Vaghari will argue in court that the equipment was for iranian professors who work in dubai. So you think the whole premise of the u. S. Case is faulty. Doesnt make sense. David kris is the head of the National Security division at the Justice Department. He says most middlemen arent in it for politics. Theyre people who i think primarily are motivated by profit. Profit. They want the money. And theyre adaptable and intelligent, and we have to adapt to keep pace with them. The vaghari case, he seems like such a low level guy. He operated out of his basement. He had no money. Why would the iranians go to him . The iranians will exploit an opportunity if they see one, whether the guy is, you know, sort of some kind of fancy pants International Arms dealer with a mink coat and a private jet, or whether hes some guy operating out of a basement somewhere in some kind of classic boiler room style operation. It doesnt really matter to them as long as they get the technology that they are seeking at the other end of it. Kris leads a multiagency effort to hunt down the smugglers. A lot of the investigative work is done by i. C. E. , u. S. Immigration and customs enforcement. Clark settles, a special agent with i. C. E. , says the wakeup call came in 2005, when u. S. Soldiers in iraq stumbled upon an unexploded roadside bomb. And they looked inside, and it was american chip inside the i. E. D. . Yes, and what i can say is that theyre finding that on a regular basis. That theres u. S. Components inside of i. E. D. S in iraq and afghanistan. The government learned that the u. S. Manufacturer had sent the chips to dubai. They were sent on to iran and then given to insurgents in iraq. Settles also showed me u. S. Items smugglers were caught buying for iran that could be used in their Nuclear Program. Ballistic missile parts. Tiny radar components. And these sensitive devices crucial to build a nuclear bomb. The pressure transducers. Pressure transducers. Yes. Its an integral part of enriching uranium. Iran may have succeeded in obtaining these. Look at this photo of president ahmadinejad in Irans Nuclear facility in natanz. Right behind him is an american transducer looking exactly like this thing. Yes, the iranians were trying to acquire these transducers. One reason its so hard to enforce the sanctions is that many items iran wants are sold for nonmilitary uses, like this little widget a triggered spark gap. The triggered spark gap can be utilized in a lithotripter, which is a machine, a medical device, that can break up kidney stones. And its also used to detonate a nuclear weapon. So this is the typical dual use item. A very scary dual use item. After you catch someone, have you been able to flip them . Absolutely. And have you been able in this way to sabotage some of the things you send over . In other words, send over faulty stuff thatll break down. I cant comment on anything like that. [chuckles] up next, an iranian is arrested after buying sensitive equipment from the u. S. You ended up selling one of your devices to iran. By accident, certainly. Did they tell you it was going to iran . They said it was going to malaysian telekom. When 60 minutes on cnbc continues. [ticking] i want to spread a little love this year [ male announcer ] this december, experience the gift of unsurpassed craftsmanship and some of the best offers of the year at the lexus december to remember sales event. This is the pursuit of perfection. And this sorry to interrupt, your premium right here. Vent. I just want to say, i combined home and auto with state farm, saved 760 bucks. Love this guy. Okay, does it bother anybody else that the mime is talking . Frrreeeeaky [ male announcer ] bundle home and auto and you could save 760 bucks. Alright, mama, lets get going. [ yawns ] naptime is calling my name. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. State farm. [ male announcer ] this december, experience the gift of true artistry and some of the best offers of the year at the lexus december to remember sales event. This is the pursuit of perfection. The Justice Department has indicted over 100 alleged smugglers working for iran, but many remain out of reach. There are people in iran or in certain nonextradition countries where we may have difficulty getting to them. On the other hand, weve had cases where we have charges against somebody, and years later they travel, and maybe they think weve forgotten about them. But we dont forget. Hes talking about people like majid kakavand, an iranian electrical engineer from tehran. I am not criminal. I havent done anything. I am innocent. Kakavand was tracked down in 2009 as he landed in paris on vacation. I was arrested by the police in the airport. They told me, okay, theres an arrest warrant against you issued by the United States. The french sent him to prison pending his extradition to the u. S. , where he faces charges that he tricked several American Companies into shipping tens of thousands of electrical components destined for iran, but via malaysia. He and his Business Partners sent a blizzard of email orders to companies they found on the internet. We found a company that responded in huntsville, alabama. Now, were here because you ended up selling one of your devices to iran. By accident, certainly. Lynn leaper is the ceo of az technology, which makes Aerospace Testing equipment. She sold kakavand this spectroreflectometer, a device with various uses, including, the government says, enhancing the capability of long range missiles. She says kakavands Trading Company lied to her in their emails. We asked who the end user was, which is one of the questions on the end user. Right. Yeah. Oh, did they tell you it was going to iran . They said it was going to malaysian telekom. Did that make any sense . Yeah, actually its a reasonable request. So she sold it for 95,000, and off it went to kuala lumpur. We know actually from the indictment of mr. Kakavand that he had arranged for your product to be flown via iran air. [chuckling] right into tehran. Do you know even know who the actual recipient of it was . In the indictments, there were two companies listed. One of them is does deal with electrooptical equipment. And also weapons of mass destruction. Of course. That company is a subsidiary of Iran Electronics industries, a contractor that makes weapons and Communication Systems for the iranian military. Seems like an openandshut case against kakavand, but it isnt. Nowhere else in the world this is considered as a crime. Nowhere else except in the United States. Diane francois is kakavands lawyer in paris, where hes fighting his extradition to the u. S. She explains that in europe, there are no sanctions against trading with iran, except when it comes to arms and nuclear sales. The United States is somehow asking Foreign Countries to recognize their embargo, their National Defense interest while it is not at all the one of other sovereign countries. Do the europeans, and the french particularly, have no moral issues selling electronics or anything that could conceivably be used in weapons to iran . Look, that is, first, a political question, and i disagree with the question itself. To the best of my knowledge, trading with iran on many commodities has absolutely nothing to do with the Nuclear Program of iran. Youre client wasnt buying dresses. He wasnt buy tables. He was buying electronics. And he was sending them to iran. He was buying a lot of electrical components, and this is still not forbidden by any legislation other than your embargo. Were talking about tens of thousands of different items here. Well, i mean, you can buy 50,000 plugs at 50¢ each. It doesnt make you a great criminal. She says nothing he bought meets the definition of arms that are restricted for sale under french law. But the Justice Department argues that kakavand was doing business in the u. S. , not france, and that he lied to get the goods. It seems that i am a victim of the existing policies between iran and the United States and the other countries. You have gone after some big fish, but then they get caught in various countries, and those countries let them go, in country after country. Hong kong, thailand, poland. Its always frustrating if you think youve found a bad guy and you cant lay hands on him. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. And you just keep going. Iran has publicly condemned the u. S. And france for kakavands arrest. If he is extradited, itll be a landmark victory for enforcing the sanctions abroad. But there are many more smugglers out there. Do you have the feeling, as weve heard, that you can shut someone down and five new people take their place . I have a feeling that there are a lot of different people out there who are trying to do this. But i think we are making a difference, even if were not stopping every transaction that would otherwise occur. One frustrated agent told us, were only catching the dumb ones. [chuckles] well, the dumber you are, the more likely we are to catch you. But id like to think weve caught some smart people too. In may 2010, a French Appeals Court refused to extradite majid kakavand, and the french government sent him back to iran. There were questions about whether his return was part of a deal for the release of a french citizen being held in iran. Kakavand meanwhile has complained of his treatment while in french custody, which he claims was intentionally rough at the request of the u. S. [ticking] coming up, well meet a man with some very impressive toys. [gun clicks] its brand new. Its kalashnikov bought for special forces. Thats your boat . Thats my small yacht. Where is it now . Really, i dont know. You dont know where it is . No. When 60 minutes on cnbc returns. [ticking] vo you are a business pro. Seeker of the sublime. You can separate runway ridiculousness. From fashion that flies off the shelves. And you. Rent from national. Because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. And go. You can even take a fullsize or above, and still pay the midsize price. natalie ooooh, i like your style. vo so do we, business pro. So do we. Go national. Go like a pro. [ male announcer ] what kind of energy is so abundant, it can help provide the power for all this . Natural gas. More than ever before, americas electricity is generated by it. Exxonmobil uses advanced visualization and Drilling Technologies to produce natural gas. Powering our lives. While reducing emissions by up to 60 . Energy lives here. [ticking] a big time sports franchise is the ultimate vanity investment for american millionaires and billionaires. And some owners, like jerry jones of the Dallas Cowboys and the late George Steinbrenner of the new york yankees, have become just as famous as their star players. In 2010, that exclusive club opened up to a man who counts his billions in rubles. His name is Mikhail Prokhorov, and we sat down with the Russian Oligarch just as he was buying the worst team in professional basketball, the new jersey nets. For me, life, and business in particular, is a big game. [thumping drum beat] if you could afford to do anything, would you do this . And hire a Production Company to put it to music . How about this . Maybe not. But Mikhail Prokhorov is always looking for a challenge. You like danger . I like to control risk. Control risk . Yeah. By now, you have probably guessed that russias wealthiest citizen and largest individual taxpayer is an adrenaline junkie. He is also one of the countrys most avid sportsmen, a former owner of a moscow basketball that won the european championship. You will also notice that he is quite tall, 68 to be exact, as he trains here with his personal kickboxing partner, who is also the coach of the Russian National team. I am addicted to sport. Without sport, i feel bad. In this case, its some kind of a drug. How much time do you spend working out every day . Two hours. Whatever happen, two hours, i have my workout. Reduces stress . I like to be in stress. You like it . Its my competitive advantage. For someone who loves sports, stress, and challenges, theres probably no better buy than the new jersey nets. For a few hundred Million Dollars, prokhorov recently bought 80 of the worst team in the National Basketball association. 20 years ago, a russian would have never been allowed to buy an American Sports franchise, but nba commissioner david stern says its just one more sign that the world is changing. America is really the only place where the question gets asked, what about those foreigners . This is a global sport. Our games our televised in 215 countries and 43 languages. So it was really a natural import of globalization. It also has something to do with the recession. A number of nba teams are struggling financially, and prokhorov has the one thing the league and the nets need most right now very deep pockets which come from a farflung financial empire. He flew us to siberia to check out russias richest gold Mining Company. He owns almost half of it, plus a big chunk of the worlds biggest aluminum producer. [woman speaking in russian] there is a media empire, plus two banks, an insurance company, and lots of real estate, including this house, which has a builtin Swimming Pool and of course a fitness center. Thats your boat . Its my small yacht. He showed us a model of his 200foot yacht. The real one, he says, makes him seasick. Where is it now . Really, i dont know. You dont know where it is . No. [gun clicking] and we s