U.S. imposes sanction against Indian petrochemical company for ‘clandestine’ Iran oil purchases

In the first such move against oil shipments to India, the U.S. Treasury department announced it had imposed sanctions against a Mumbai based petrochemical company amongst several entities accused of selling Iranian petroleum products. “Today’s action targets Iranian brokers and several front companies in the UAE, Hong Kong, and India that have facilitated financial transfers and shipping of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products,” the treasury department said, accusing the sanctioned companies of “concealing the origin” of the shipments from Iran. “India-based petrochemical company Tibalaji Petrochem Private Limited has purchased millions of dollars’ worth of Triliance-brokered petrochemical products, including methanol and base oil, for onward shipment to China,” the Treasury statement added, explaining that any U.S.-based assets owned by the sanctioned entities in the U.S. will be blocked, while personnel dealing with the Iranian shipments would also face “enforcement action”. “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.” Along with Tibalaji petrochemicals, the OFAC announced sanctions against several oil shipping and brokering companies in the UAE, Iran and Hongkong and added the company linked to the Panama registered shipping vessel Gas Allure “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. and Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry Commercial Co., to transfer funds and ship Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals to buyers in Asia” the U.S. Treasury claimed.