The US imposed sanctions on the smugglers of Iranian oil

The US Treasury Department has blacklisted more than a dozen companies, six individuals and eleven vessels linked to the export of Iranian oil for supporting terrorist organizations.

Iranian oil was helped to be transported for the Quds Force (a special unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) and Hezbollah, recognized by the United States as terrorist organizations. Sanctions have been imposed on companies, vessels and individuals associated with the scheme, writes The Maritime Executive.

Sanctions were imposed on Viktor Artemov, Edman Nafria, Ruzbeh Zahedi and Mohamed El-Zein, as well as on companies controlled by them, such as Ava Petroleum, which, according to the Ministry of Finance, were used to carry out these activities.

Companies registered in Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Turkey, Iran and the Marshall Islands were included in the sanctions list.

To hide the true origin of the oil, they used a warehouse in the port of Sharjah in the UAE, where Indian oil was mixed with Iranian oil. The companies produced fake certificates of origin and quality for the blended oil, which was then shipped to other countries for sale.

“The individuals who run this illegal network use front companies, falsification of documents to hide the origin of Iranian oil, sell it on the international market and evade sanctions. Market participants should be vigilant about attempts by organizations to obtain income from oil smuggling to support their terrorist activities around the world,” the US Treasury emphasized.