The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Thursday sanctioned a network led by Kurdish Iraqi-British businessman Salim Ahmed Said, exposing a long-running oil smuggling operation that disguised Iranian oil as Iraqi in order to circumvent international sanctions.
According to OFAC, Said covertly controls UAE-based VS Tankers FZE, formerly known as Al-Iraqia Shipping Services & Oil Trading FZE (AISSOT)—a company central to the smuggling scheme. OFAC notes that VS Tankers has been instrumental in facilitating ship-to-ship (STS) transfers and blending Iranian oil to misrepresent it as Iraqi crude.
Moreover, the Treasury’s announcement also confirms the sanctioning of several tankers engaged in covert Iranian oil deliveries. Among them is the Marshall Islands-flagged crude oil tanker DIJILAH (IMO 9829629), described as operated, managed, and beneficially owned by VS Tankers since 2019. The vessel reportedly engaged in multiple STS transfers with the U.S.-sanctioned tanker CASINOVA in April 2024, near the Iran-Iraq maritime boundary.
VS Tankers is one of several companies now sanctioned under Executive Order (E.O.) 13902, targeting the Iranian petroleum sector. Additional companies controlled by Said include VS Oil Terminal FZE, VS Petroleum DMCC (formerly Ikon Petroleum), Rhine Shipping DMCC, as well as UK-based The Willett
Content Original Link:
Read Full article form Original Source OIKONOMIKOS TAXYDROMOS
" target="_blank">Read Full article form Original Source OIKONOMIKOS TAXYDROMOS