A Panama- and Greece-based law firm helped conceal the owners of ships carrying hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian goods, the Treasury Department alleged Wednesday as it imposed sanctions.
Karnakis and Karnakis registered shipping companies behind vessels moving Iranian petroleum, petrochemicals and steel, helping Tehran generate revenue for its military and weapons programs, the department said.
“Whether you are conducting illegal oil transfers at sea or sitting in the corner office of a law firm, if you are supporting the Iranian regime, we will find you and sanction you,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the release.
Shell companies and oil money
The firm’s employees served as directors and officers of companies they registered, obscuring the businesses’ true owners, Treasury said. The department also sanctioned the firm’s two owners and three employees.
One company the firm established, Elias Shipping and Trading, owned the tanker Ramona 1 and served as a front for Syria’s Al-Qatirji Company, according to Treasury.
Al-Qatirji sold millions of barrels of Iranian oil for the benefit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and the Houthis, the department said. At the time of its designation, the Syrian company helped the Qods Force generate and access hundreds of millions of dollars annually from Iranian oil sales, Treasury said.
Nine vessels and a bank inquiry
The sanctions list identifies four companies, five people and nine vessels. The other companies include Roxette Maritime Shipping and Trading, which manages seven cargo vessels, and shipping agents Amigoz Singapore and Dubai-based Whales Shipping Line, which owns two support vessels.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network also used an administrative subpoena to advance an inquiry into an unnamed Greek bank’s potential ties to Iran and its proxies. The agency said it requested information about banks’ relationships with sanctioned Iranian financial institutions.
Wednesday’s action falls under Operation Economic Outcast, which Treasury launched August 24 to target Iran’s economic support networks, as The Dallas Express reported. The campaign expanded October 1 with actions against Iranian industries and the A7 financial network.
The sanctions freeze covered assets in the United States or under U.S. persons’ control and generally prohibit transactions involving blocked property unless authorized or exempt. The Office of Foreign Assets Control also issued licenses allowing certain wind-down activities.
Provided by Dallas Express
