The US has imposed sanctions, as part of Operation Economic Outcast, on a law firm based in Greece and Panama, saying it had for years provided legal assistance to Iranian shipping networks.
The U.S. department of the Treasury said the firm had for years leveraged its legal practice to register shipping companies that own ‘shadow fleet vessels’ responsible for shipping hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian steel, petroleum, and petrochemicals, among other goods.
The firm previously set up three shipping companies, among others, all of which OFAC has previously designated for their ownership of vessels active in the trade of Iranian petroleum and petroleum products, Treasury claimed in a release.
Treasury sanctioned the firm and five associated individuals, accusing them of helping obscure the true beneficial owners of these companies.
The latest designations include a Panama- and Greece-based shipping company for which the law firm serves as the corporate agent. Treasury identified the shipping company as the operator and ship manager of seven cargo vessels. Three of those vessels have allegedly shipped various cargos of Iranian-origin goods within the past year, including petrochemicals and steel products.
All seven vessels were identified as blocked property under the new sanctions.
The US Treasury Department also added shipping agents from Singapore and the United Arab Emirates to its sanctions list. The department said these agents directly assist the operations of Iran’s “shadow fleet.”
Meanwhile, the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an administrative subpoena to advance an investigation into a Greek bank over potential ties to Iran and its proxies, according to the Treasury statement, which did not name the bank.
Additionally, FinCEN has issued multiple requests for information concerning banks’ relationships with OFAC-designated Iranian financial institutions.
Treasury warned that any entity facilitating money laundering or sanctions evasion on behalf of Iran risks being cut off from the U.S. financial system.
“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,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “Iran’s facilitators must make a choice: Either you are with us or against us. We know who you are, we know what you’re doing, and we will continue to take action.”
