iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions against Indian petrochemical company, Tibalaji Petrochem Private Limited, along with seven other companies across the globe for dealing in Iranian oil.
The OFAC on Thursday, September 29, sanctioned an international network of companies in India, UAE, and Hong Kong involved in the sale of Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum products worth hundreds of millions of dollars to end users in South and East Asia.
Thursday’s action targets Iranian brokers and several front companies that have facilitated financial transfers and shipping of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products. These entities have played a critical role in concealing the origin of the Iranian shipments and enabling two sanctioned Iranian brokers, Triliance Petrochemical Co. Ltd. (Triliance) and Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry Commercial Co. (PGPICC), to transfer funds and ship Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals to buyers in Asia.
Triliance, a critical component of Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors, which brokers the sale of Iranian products to foreign purchasers, has purchased millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian petrochemical and petroleum products from Iran-based petrochemical brokers Iran Chemical Industries Investment Company and Middle East Kimiya Pars Co., which were ultimately shipped to India.
India-based petrochemical company Tibalaji Petrochem Private Limited purchased millions of dollars worth of Triliance-brokered petrochemical products, including methanol and base oil, for onward shipment to China.
Triliance relies upon intermediary front companies to effectuate the sale of Iranian products to purchasers in South and East Asia. Hong Kong-based front company Sierra Vista Trading Limited was used to conceal petrochemical purchases worth millions of dollars from Iranian producers for onward shipment to China.
Triliance also utilized front companies to pay UAE-based Clara Shipping LLC millions of dollars in freight charges for the shipment of Iranian petrochemical and petroleum products to East Asia. UAE-based Virgo Marine has similarly received the equivalent of millions of dollars from Triliance since early 2022 to arrange vessels for the storage and transportation of Iranian petrochemicals. Virgo Marine has operated the liquid petroleum gas tanker Gas Allure, which transported tens of thousands of metric tons of Iranian petrochemicals brokered by Triliance.
Apart from Tibalaji, the sanctions were also imposed on Iran Chemical Industries Investment Company, Middle East Kimiya Pars Co., Sierra Vista Trading Limited, Clara Shipping LLC, and Virgo Marine
In addition to OFAC’s designations, the Department of State is also designating two entities based in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Zhonggu Storage and Transportation Co. Ltd. and WS Shipping Co. Ltd., for their involvement in Iran’s petrochemical trade.
“The United States is committed to severely restricting Iran’s illicit oil and petrochemical sales,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson; “So long as Iran refuses a mutual return to full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the United States will continue to enforce its sanctions on the sale of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.”
“As Iran continues to accelerate its nuclear program in violation of the JCPOA, we will continue to accelerate our enforcement of sanctions on Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sales under authorities that would be removed under the JCPOA. These enforcement actions will continue on a regular basis, with an aim to severely restrict Iran’s oil and petrochemical exports. Anyone involved in facilitating these illegal sales and transactions should cease and desist immediately if they wish to avoid US sanctions,” Nelson added.
The implications of these sanctions are far-reaching. All property and interests in property of these companies that are in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50% or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all dealings by US persons or within the United States (including transactions transiting the United States) that involve any property or interests in the property of blocked or designated persons.
