The United States has imposed sanctions on a criminal network involved in selling fake flags to help Iranian shadow fleet vessels register illegally.
Washington is also targeting a Turkey-based company that provides ground services to Iranian airlines under US sanctions.
The measures, announced by the US Treasury Department, are part of the Trump administration’s Operation Economic Outcast, which aims to cut off the Iranian regime’s sources of revenue used to fund terrorism, develop weapons, and support its proxies across the Middle East.
For more than a decade, Indian nationals Sunil Kumar Sharma and his wife, Jaspreet Preeti Shahid, have established companies posing as ship registries and maritime service providers for countries and jurisdictions including Guyana, Eswatini, Aruba, Mali, Mozambique, Malawi, Sint Maarten, and Timor-Leste.
These companies sold fake ship registrations and forged certificates to vessels transporting Iranian oil illegally. Most of the governments concerned have publicly distanced themselves from these fraudulent registration companies.
The latest US action targets 13 individuals and companies linked to Sharma’s network.
Washington is also targeting a Turkey-based company that provides ground services to Iranian airlines under US sanctions.
The measures, announced by the US Treasury Department, are part of the Trump administration’s Operation Economic Outcast, which aims to cut off the Iranian regime’s sources of revenue used to fund terrorism, develop weapons, and support its proxies across the Middle East.
For more than a decade, Indian nationals Sunil Kumar Sharma and his wife, Jaspreet Preeti Shahid, have established companies posing as ship registries and maritime service providers for countries and jurisdictions including Guyana, Eswatini, Aruba, Mali, Mozambique, Malawi, Sint Maarten, and Timor-Leste.
These companies sold fake ship registrations and forged certificates to vessels transporting Iranian oil illegally. Most of the governments concerned have publicly distanced themselves from these fraudulent registration companies.
The latest US action targets 13 individuals and companies linked to Sharma’s network.
