U.S. sanctions ‘sprawling’ shadow banking network for supporting Iranian military

WASHINGTON – A gaggle of fifty other people and companies throughout throughout Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and the Marshall Islands which were appearing as a “sprawling shadow banking network” for Iran’s military had been hit with financial sanctions Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department stated.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control says the entities and persons are concerned within the sale of Iranian oil and petrochemicals, that have helped Iran’s military and executive achieve illicit get right of entry to to the world monetary machine.

The source of revenue will pay for guns and investment to proxy teams, together with Yemen’s Houthis, in addition to drone transfers to Russia, Treasury says.

Iran is accused of supplying Russia with drones which might be used to bomb Ukrainian civilians because the Kremlin continues its invasion of Ukraine.

Included within the sanctions are Seyyed Mohammad Mosanna’i Najibi, an Iranian-Turkish money-changer, 27 quilt firms managed by means of Najibi founded in Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and the Marshall Islands, and a Tehran-based foreign money trade industry, amongst others.

An inquiry throughout the Iranian department of Najibi’s corporate, referred to as Sadaf Exchange, used to be no longer in an instant responded.

Among different issues, the sanctions deny the folks and companies get right of entry to to any belongings or monetary property held within the U.S. and save you U.S. firms and electorate from doing industry with them.

Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo stated the U.S. “will continue to pursue those who seek to finance Iran’s destabilizing terrorist activities. We continue to work with allies and partners, as well as the global financial industry, to increase vigilance against the movement of funds supporting terrorism.”

The U.S. has already sanctioned Iranian shadow banking companies. I n March 2023, the U.S. imposed economic sanctions on 39 companies related to a shadow banking machine that helped to obfuscate monetary job between sanctioned Iranian companies and their overseas patrons, specifically for petrochemicals produced in Iran.