Key facts
- US imposed sanctions on a network smuggling Iranian LPG.
- The network disguised Iranian LPG as Omani LPG for export to South and East Asia.
- Twelve entities were designated, including firms in the Marshall Islands, UAE, and China.
- Six LPG tankers, including four Panama-flagged vessels, were targeted.
- An Iranian exchange house was sanctioned for moving funds for sanctioned banks.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced new sanctions on Friday targeting a network involved in smuggling Iranian-origin liquid petroleum gas (LPG). The scheme involved disguising the LPG as Omani product and exporting it to South and East Asia. The sanctions designate 12 entities, with five based in the Marshall Islands, four in the UAE, and one in China. Additionally, six LPG tankers, including four flagged in Panama, were targeted. The Treasury Department stated that front companies in the UAE and China, along with foreign bank accounts, were used to move millions of barrels of Iranian LPG while concealing its origin to evade U.S. sanctions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent affirmed the department's commitment to cutting off Iran's "shadow fleet, shadow banking networks, and access to global trade." The sanctions also extended to the Iranian exchange house Mehrdad Geramian Nik and Partners Co and its leadership, for allegedly facilitating the movement of hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign currency on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks.