By Jos Standerwick, CEO, Maritime London
 

The US Treasury Department and the Department of State have stepped up the US’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against Iran by sanctioning dozens of companies and vessels citing their involvement in the illicit trade on Iranian oil.

Among the entities sanctioned by the Treasury Department is a network of companies run by Iraqi (Iraqi-British national) businessman Salim Ahmed Said (Said) that has profited from smuggling Iranian oil disguised as, or blended with, Iraqi oil. The Treasury Department is also sanctioning several vessels engaged in the covert delivery of Iranian oil.

Concurrently, the US Department of State has designated six entities and identified four vessels for knowingly engaging in a “significant transaction for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of petroleum or petroleum products from Iran”.

“As President Trump has made clear, Iran’s behaviour has left it decimated. While it has had every opportunity to choose peace, its leaders have chosen extremism,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “[We] will continue to target Tehran’s revenue sources and intensify economic pressure to disrupt the regime’s access to the financial resources that fuel its destabilising activities.”

A link to the press release highlighting the actions and the nature of Said’s network can be found here.

Meanwhile, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), in partnership with the FCDO and OFSI, has issued a Red Alert reminding entities of their reporting obligations and highlighting the nature of the ‘Russian Sanctions Evasion Network’.

The report outlines the following ‘red flag indicators’ of potential sanctions evasion and avoidance:

· Companies with limited trading history suddenly trading large volumes of oil

· Limited information on ownership, directors, or beneficiaries

· Multiple transfers between obscure companies

· Companies registered or operating in known jurisdictions of high risk and in particular regions where the shadow fleet is known to operate

· A limited online presence or a presence using stock images with limited details.

Firms should review the key indicators flagged in the report and incorporate them into customer due diligence and customer risk assessment processes and methodologies appropriately. Please see a link the Red Alert here.

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