Company licensing Dutch supermarket brand Spar accused of helping Iran evade sanctions

The Dutch supermarket chain Spar has been implicated in an alleged scheme to help Iran bypass international sanctions, de Volkskrant reported. According to internal documents leaked by a whistleblower, the license for Spar Iran was used to facilitate questionable transactions involving members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, a heavily sanctioned group linked to human rights abuses. Evidence suggests that Spar Iran’s local operator, Blue River, facilitated trips for relatives of high-ranking Iranian officials under the guise of legitimate business travel. Spar claims it found no direct sanctions violations but identified "irregularities" in Blue River’s operations that breached its licensing agreement.