The US Department of the Treasury announced on Friday a new round of sanctions against 10 individuals and 27 entities related to Iran. The sanctioned entities include a Chinese citizen and 11 entities in Hong Kong.
According to the announcement from the Treasury Department, these sanctioned entities and individuals are connected to three Iranian brothers, Mansour Zarringhalam, Nasser Zarringhalam, and Fazlolah Zarringhalam. As part of Iran’s “shadow banking” network, they used international financial systems to launder billions of dollars through the Iran Exchange So and their controlled foreign front companies. This network helped the Iranian regime evade sanctions and transfer funds from the sales of oil and petrochemical products to fund its nuclear and missile programs, as well as support terrorist proxies.
The Treasury Department stated that Iran’s shadow banking network, led by the Zarringhalam brothers and numerous financial facilitators, allowed sanctioned Iranian individuals and military organizations to access the international financial system and facilitate Iran’s international exports, providing funds for the Iranian military and terrorist proxies.
According to the announcement by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Treasury Department, most of the 10 sanctioned individuals are Iranian citizens, including one Chinese citizen. The sanctioned Chinese citizen listed in the announcement is Zhang Yu from Pudong New Area, Shanghai, China.
The 27 sanctioned entities on Friday include 11 entities in Hong Kong, namely Bstshesh HK Limited, Fitage Limited, Gutown Trade Limited, Konosag Trading Limited, Lastsix Trading Limited, Magical Eagle Limited, Marlena Trading Limited, Prettandy Trading Limited, Profu Company Limited, Saledige Trading Limited, and Xia Trading Limited.
US Treasury Secretary Benson remarked, “Iran’s shadow banking system is a lifeline for the regime. The regime uses this system to access oil sales revenue, transfer funds, and finance destabilizing activities.”
“The Treasury Department will continue to use all available tools to target key nodes in this network, disrupting its operations, as it enriches the regime’s elite at the expense of the Iranian people,” Benson stated.
The Treasury Department’s announcement highlighted that the Zarringhalam brothers, through front company networks in the UAE and Hong Kong, assisted sanctioned Iranian regime officials and affiliated merchants in receiving payment for the sale of oil, oil products, and other goods from foreign buyers. Iran’s major oil and petrochemical exporters, as well as the Iranian military, used the Zarringhalam network to evade sanctions.