The United States sanctioned this Thursday members of an international oil smuggling network that facilitated crude oil trade and generated income for the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Al Quds Force (IRGC-QF) .
That network includes several key individuals and “numerous” companies and vessels involved in mixing oil to hide the Iranian origins of the shipments and export that material around the world in support of Hezbollah and the IRGC-QF, the Treasury Department pointed out in a statement.
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, stressed that the value of the oil sold amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Sanctions have been applied against six people and 17 companies and block eleven ships for “providing support to terrorists or terrorist activities”.
The US authorities consider that individuals Those appointed used shell companies and fraudulent tactics, such as forging documents, to hide the Iranian origin of that oil, sell it on the international market, and evade the sanctions in force.
The Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, urged in that note that the sector be attentive to the attempts of Hezbollah and the IRGC-QF “to generate income from oil smuggling to carry out their terrorist activities.”
Among those affected are Viktor Artemov, Edman Nafrieh, Rouzbeh Zahedi and Mohamed El Zein, who according to Washington used “dozens of companies” under its control for the illicit activities of that network.
This network used warehouses in the port of Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates, and mixed products of Indian origin with Iranian oil to hide the Iranian origin of that crude. Those companies then modified or created falsified certificates of origin for the blended oil, which was sold abroad.
Among the firms that participated in this fraudulent scheme are Centrum Maritime, Energotrade Plus DMCC, Intrepid Navigators , and Rising Tide Shipping, all owned or managed by Artemov.
As a result of the sanctions decreed, the properties and assets in the US or under US control of the affected persons and entities are blocked and must be notified to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Treasure. Any entity in which they have a direct or indirect participation of at least 50% is also blocked.
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