OFAC Sanctions Shipping Network Moving Oil for Iranian Military
The U.S. this week designated 26 companies, people and vessels linked to the sanctioned Al-Qatirji Company, a Syrian conglomerate that OFAC said generates hundreds of millions of dollars for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and the Yemen-based Houthis by selling Iranian oil to Syria and China.
The sanctions target vessels with flags from Panama, Guyana, Palau, Barbados and Iran along with their shipowners, including people and companies based in India, Lebanon, the Seychelles and elsewhere. OFAC also sanctioned Hussam Bin Ahmed Rushdi Al-Qatirji -- the new leader of the Al-Qatirji Company after its former leader, Muhammad Al-Qatirji, died earlier this year -- along with business partner Muhammad Agha Ahmed Rashdi Qatirji and ‘Abbas Katerji, Muhammad Al-Qatirji’s son.
OFAC said the Al-Qatirji Company has become one of the “main channels” of revenue for the Iranian military. Bradley Smith, Treasury’s acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said Iran is increasingly relying on businesses like the Al-Qatirji Company to “fund its destabilizing activities and web of terrorist proxies across the region,” adding that the U.S. will “continue to take all available measures” to restrict the Iranian government’s funding sources.