Sotis was the 80% owner of Add Helium, a diving equipment and training company in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The charges stem from the defendants’ scheme to cause the illegal export of rebreather diving equipment to Libya in August 2016.

If rebreathers are to be exported to any countries with national security concerns, such as Libya, it requires a license from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

If the name Peter Sotis rings a bell, it is no coincidence. He was Rob Stewart's dive buddy when the filmmaker tragically lost his life on a deep rebreather dive in 2017, after which he was ostracised by the dive community as well as sued by Stewart’s family for his role in Stewart's death. Both the incident and the lawsuit have been covered in the magazine.

When the environmentalist and filmmaker Rob Steward died following a dive during the filming of scenes for Sharkwater Extinction, it came as a big shock, which reverberated across his huge diverse following and fanbase across the world, including the dive community.

How could a dive go so tragically wrong and who was to blame for his untimely demise?

Many will recall that Stewart died tragically in an accident in January 2017 while completing the third dive of the day to below 60 meters. He and his partner, Peter Sotis, surfaced, but Sotis passed out on the boat after climbing aboard and Stewart vanished from the surface. His body was recovered several days later. The world mourned Stewart’s passing, many suggesting that he had almost single handed brought the issue of shark finning to the world’s attention and as a result had a major handing in saving an entire species.

Peter Sotis being interviewed by Robert Osborne for a TV documentary about the circumstances under which charismatic Canadian filmmaker and conservationist Rob Stewart drowned.

The Department of Justice confirmed in a press release that the 55-year-old Floridian "was arrested based on an indictment charging him with conspiracy to violate and attempted violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), as well as smuggling of goods."