The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on 22 entities based in Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Turkey for their involvement in facilitating the sale of Iranian oil, which benefits the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF). The IRGC-QF, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), plays a key role in Iran’s paramilitary operations.
According to the Treasury Department, the IRGC-QF utilizes front companies outside of Iran, employing offshore accounts to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars derived from Iranian oil sales. These funds are funneled to support the IRGC-QF’s terrorist activities and further Iran’s destabilizing nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
“Treasury remains focused on disrupting the shadowy infrastructure that allows Iran to threaten the United States and our allies in the region,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “The Iranian regime relies heavily on its shadow banking system to fund its weapons programs, rather than benefiting the Iranian people.”
The latest sanctions target a network of companies that assist in laundering funds for Iranian oil transactions. These front companies, located in Hong Kong, the UAE, and Turkey, have been identified as key facilitators in the illicit sale of Iranian oil, including large-scale shipments coordinated with entities linked to Hezbollah.
The Treasury’s action is part of the ongoing US campaign to disrupt Iran’s “shadow banking” infrastructure, which has been a critical element in the regime's ability to bypass sanctions. This designation follows an earlier round of sanctions in June 2024 targeting individuals and entities involved in laundering billions of dollars through Iranian exchange houses.
The sanctioned entities include Hong Kong-based companies like Amito Trading Limited, Shelf Trading Limited, and JTU Energy Limited, which were used as cover to facilitate transactions for the IRGC-QF. Other entities like Pulcular Enerji, a Turkish company, coordinated with the IRGC-QF to purchase Iranian oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
As a result of these sanctions, all assets and interests of the designated entities in US jurisdictions are blocked, and US persons are prohibited from engaging in any transactions involving these entities. Violations of US sanctions could result in civil or criminal penalties.
This move follows the President’s National Security Presidential Memorandum 2, which directs a maximum pressure campaign against Iran, and builds upon prior sanctions against entities aiding the IRGC-QF and its broader network of support for terrorism.