Malta companies in Iran sanctions-busting list
The US Treasury Department today listed 37 front companies based
in Germany, Malta, and Cyprus which, it said, were owned, controlled by,
or acting for the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and
its affiliates. A number of individuals were also included in the list
published in Washington.
It said that its action targeted IRISL’s complex network of shipping and holding companies and executives and further exposed Iran’s use of its national maritime carrier to advance its illicit weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programme.
“We will continue to expose the elaborate structures and tactics Iran uses to shield its shipping line from international scrutiny so that it can continue to facilitate illicit commerce,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey. “This pattern of obfuscation is leading the private sector around the world to refuse business with Iran rather than risk becoming involved in its nuclear and missile programmes.”
The IRISL was originally designated in September 2008 by the Treasury for providing logistical services to the arm of the Iranian government that oversees its ballistic missile programme.
"IRISL has increasingly created and relied upon a series of front companies and has engaged in deceptive behavior to assist efforts to evade the impact of sanctions and increased scrutiny of its activities," the Treasury said. It said it had designated nearly 70 IRISL front companies and affiliates and has identified more than 100 ships as being the property of IRISL or its fronts.
Among the companies and individuals listed by the Treasury today were:
Mansour Eslami, co-manager of several Hamburg-based holding companies and also a director of IRISL (Malta) Limited, a subsidiary of IRISL ;
Shere Shipping Company Limited, Tongham Shipping Co Ltd, Uppercourt Shipping Company Limited, and Vobster Shipping Company, all located at the same address in Malta that, the Treasury said, are directly or indirectly owned or controlled by IRISL or one of its subsidiaries. Each of these firms is the registered owner of a vessel already on Treasury’s SDN List as blocked property of IRISL.
Woking Shipping Investments Limited, an IRISL subsidiary that owns the four Malta-based shipping companies, and Kerman Shipping Co Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IRISL. Both companies are also based in Malta.
Ahmad Sarkandi, the director of all six IRISL front companies located in Malta and a director of IRISL UK and Irinvestship, both designated by Treasury in September 2008. He also manages Lancelin Shipping Company Limited, a company based in Cyprus that is wholly-owned by IRISL, and is the director of Ocean Capital Administration GmbH, a Germany-based holding company that, together with IRISL Europe GmbH, owns Nari Shipping and Chartering GmbH & Co. KG, based in Hamburg, Germany.
In designating the companies for assisting Iran, the US Treasury Department isolates them from American financial and commercial systems and Americans are forbidden from dealing with them. Any assets that fall within US jurisdiction may be seized.
At Malta Freeport the IRISL operates under the name of HDS and accounts for between five and 10 per cent of the Freeport’s turnover of transshipment cargo. Iran’s shipping line also provides important links for domestic (local market) imports and export to and from South East Asia, the Middle East and a number of Mediterranean ports.
The US government has been providing the Maltese authorities with sophisticated equipment to detect military material which might be carried illegally in transhipment containers.
The full list of the companies listed by the US Treasury can be seen at:
http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/actions/20101027.shtml
It said that its action targeted IRISL’s complex network of shipping and holding companies and executives and further exposed Iran’s use of its national maritime carrier to advance its illicit weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programme.
“We will continue to expose the elaborate structures and tactics Iran uses to shield its shipping line from international scrutiny so that it can continue to facilitate illicit commerce,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey. “This pattern of obfuscation is leading the private sector around the world to refuse business with Iran rather than risk becoming involved in its nuclear and missile programmes.”
The IRISL was originally designated in September 2008 by the Treasury for providing logistical services to the arm of the Iranian government that oversees its ballistic missile programme.
"IRISL has increasingly created and relied upon a series of front companies and has engaged in deceptive behavior to assist efforts to evade the impact of sanctions and increased scrutiny of its activities," the Treasury said. It said it had designated nearly 70 IRISL front companies and affiliates and has identified more than 100 ships as being the property of IRISL or its fronts.
Among the companies and individuals listed by the Treasury today were:
Mansour Eslami, co-manager of several Hamburg-based holding companies and also a director of IRISL (Malta) Limited, a subsidiary of IRISL ;
Shere Shipping Company Limited, Tongham Shipping Co Ltd, Uppercourt Shipping Company Limited, and Vobster Shipping Company, all located at the same address in Malta that, the Treasury said, are directly or indirectly owned or controlled by IRISL or one of its subsidiaries. Each of these firms is the registered owner of a vessel already on Treasury’s SDN List as blocked property of IRISL.
Woking Shipping Investments Limited, an IRISL subsidiary that owns the four Malta-based shipping companies, and Kerman Shipping Co Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IRISL. Both companies are also based in Malta.
Ahmad Sarkandi, the director of all six IRISL front companies located in Malta and a director of IRISL UK and Irinvestship, both designated by Treasury in September 2008. He also manages Lancelin Shipping Company Limited, a company based in Cyprus that is wholly-owned by IRISL, and is the director of Ocean Capital Administration GmbH, a Germany-based holding company that, together with IRISL Europe GmbH, owns Nari Shipping and Chartering GmbH & Co. KG, based in Hamburg, Germany.
In designating the companies for assisting Iran, the US Treasury Department isolates them from American financial and commercial systems and Americans are forbidden from dealing with them. Any assets that fall within US jurisdiction may be seized.
At Malta Freeport the IRISL operates under the name of HDS and accounts for between five and 10 per cent of the Freeport’s turnover of transshipment cargo. Iran’s shipping line also provides important links for domestic (local market) imports and export to and from South East Asia, the Middle East and a number of Mediterranean ports.
The US government has been providing the Maltese authorities with sophisticated equipment to detect military material which might be carried illegally in transhipment containers.
The full list of the companies listed by the US Treasury can be seen at:
http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/actions/20101027.shtml
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