Duncan N.’s Post

Check out an excellent and concise take on current Compliance and Export Control risks at MENA region.

Latest round of US Treasury Department sanctions targets ships linked to Houthis, Hezbollah. The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has again sanctioned several companies, individuals, and vessels for their involvement in the shipment of Iranian commodities, including oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), to Yemen and the United Arab Emirates on behalf of the network of Iran-based, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) backed Houthi financial official Sa’id al-Jamal. OFAC is also updating the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List) entry for the sanctioned vessel Artura, which was responsible for shipping commodities for Sa’id al-Jamal, to reflect the changing of its name to OHAR. OFAC said the revenue from al-Jamal’s network helps finance the Houthis’ reckless targeting of shipping in the Red Sea and civilian infrastructure, which has led to grave consequences for both the region and the international community. In addition to today’s action targeting the network of Sa’id al-Jamal, OFAC is also designating Hong Kong-based Kai Heng Long Global Energy for its role in shipping Iranian LPG worth tens of millions of dollars for Lebanese Hezbollah, and identifying as blocked property four vessels the company owns and manages. Sa’id al-Jamal and his network rely on a host of shipping companies, vessels, and facilitators to enable the sale and shipment of Iranian commodities, including oil and petroleum products, in order to generate revenue for the Houthis and the IRGC-QF. https://lnkd.in/exFCrYaW

😎Russia's Golden 🪙🛣route to avoid Sanctions🧐 Gold exported from Russia since 21 July 2022 is increasingly being shipped to countries that do not apply sanctions on Russian gold. Once melted down and recast or refined, the origin of gold cannot be determined by examination, as any hallmarks are lost. Imports of mined gold can also be easily disguised. By masking the origin, new Russian gold can then be sold on to another country who may be unaware of the true origin. Source:National Crime Agency (NCA) Gold Bullion Corporate Investors. SA Bullion Gold Dealing World Gold Council World Gold Day

Oil stealing and money laundering, through Iran and Turkey. “A senior official at Kurdistan's natural resources ministry said oil production in the region was running at 375,000 bpd, of which 200,000 was trucked to Iran and Turkey, and the rest refined locally. "Nobody knows what happens to the revenues from the 200,000 smuggled abroad, or the oil derivatives sold to refineries in the region," said the official, who declined to be named because the sensitivity of the matter.” Because of a sanctions “loophole”, Turkey has become a pit stop for relabled, Russian oil sold on to the EU. [1] It might just be me, but the kind of people that will help Russia evade sanctions are probably the kind of people that will steal Kurdish oil. There are eight major international oil companies in Kurdistan. They are: DNO ASA (Norway) Genel Energy (London) Gulf Keystone Petroleum (Bermuda) ShaMaran Petroleum (Canada) HKN Energy (Iraq) WesternZagros (Grand Cayman, with Abu Dhabi and US ownership) MOL (Hungary) Hunt Oil Company (US) Of course, the people who design sanctions are not stupid, and the loophole is there on purpose. It’s too bad for the business interests involved, as it is a capital crime to provide the enemy with money or other things. I don’t recommend it. https://lnkd.in/eXgFdzrP

Venezuela's oil future is negative. There was no exploration and development for many years before the sanctions. There is no investment in the maintenance of the development infrastructure. That is why it is ridiculous for Colombia to say that it is dependent on the supply of gas from Venezuela or that Biden needs this oil. If at this moment they would lift the sanctions. All the sanctions. Venezuela would not recover its production potential because there will be no investment conditions and the most important reason is the inability of Maduro and his team to operate an oil field decently. https://lnkd.in/epHtMUvD

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office today announced sanctions against parties to the #Sudanwar namely SAF and RSF and their trading partners as follows: “- Alkhaleej Bank, a financial institution which has been key to the RSF financing its operations and to it controlling key elements of the Sudanese economy - Al-Fakher Advanced Works, a holding company used by the RSF to export gold. The proceeds of these sales are used to purchase weapons to allow the RSF to continue fighting - Red Rock Mining, a mining and exploration company which is a subsidiary of Sudan Master Technology, which the UK has already designated and provides funds to the SAF. It is also closely linked to Defence Industries System, the economic and manufacturing arm of the SAF, which we designated last July” Background The new measures build on from last July’s (2023) steps when the UK imposed six asset freezes on six commercial entities. This comprised three commercial entities operating under the authority of the SAF and three operating under the authority of the RSF. #keepeyesonsudan

🛑 SANCTIONS ALERT 🛑 Venezuela’s mineral wealth has been a gold mine for the Maduro regime. But the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced reinstatement of economic sanctions on Venezuela's state-owned mining company after the county’s top court upheld a ban blocking the candidacy of the leading opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado in last week's presidential elections. Treasury revoked General License 43, which had authorized dealings with mining conglomerate CVG-Minerven and notified American firms conducting business with Venezuela’s they have two weeks to comply with the new regulations or risk hefty fines. #Venezuela #Minerven #sanctions #DOT #gold #illegal #inflation #supplychains #duedilligance #economicsanctions

If they tell you that the United States or Europe think that Venezuelan oil is the justification for lifting the sanctions, you can start laughing because that oil will not be available in the medium term for the reasons explained above. Only with democracy and economic freedom will that oil and gas have a future. Chavismo has dismantled the oil industry to such an extent that it cannot even aspire to the level of Iran or Russia, also sanctioned and at war, but with their respective industries exporting as if they were not sanctioned or at war. For Venezuela's oil to play a starring role, tens of billions of dollars of investment will be needed as part of a massive opening of the oil industry to private capital and the rebirth of another PDVSA. That is not going to happen with Maduro. You can be sure of that. It can only happen in democracy and freedom. https://lnkd.in/epHtMUvD

https://lnkd.in/d5kJejsM It’s not only that oil is being smuggled from Iran to Pakistan by oil tankers but about 200,000 Barrels of oil is also being smuggled every day from Iraqi Kurdistan to Iran and Turkey. The price of this oil about $35/Barrel, less than half the price of oil in the international market. Would it not be much better if US sanctions on Iran were lifted and the oil and gas transported by pipelines to Pakistan and Turkey? This would help both these US allies obtain cheap energy and would probably not make any difference to Iranian oil sales. The sanctions are clearly not working!

♻️Iran - Sanction evasion - Crude oil♻️ Justice Department Announces Terrorism and Sanctions-Evasion Charges and Seizures Linked to Illicit, Billion-Dollar Global Oil Trafficking Network That Finances Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Its Malign Activities. According to the indictment, following the imposition of U.S. sanctions against Iran’s petroleum sector in 2018, the Government of Iran’s ability to finance itself through sales of crude oil and petroleum products – Iran’s most important economic sector – was severely diminished. In response, the IRGC-QF built a large-scale global oil laundering network to give Iran’s government-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) illicit access to global markets to sell crude oil and petroleum products and to use the proceeds to finance the IRGC-QF. ☛ Use of an intermediary company in Lebanon to conceal the Government of Iran’s involvement in the oil sales ☛Use of a ship management company based in India to buy, lease, and manage oil tankers to use in the scheme ☛ Oil sales through a network of front companies based in Turkey, Oman, Greece, and in other jurisdictions affiliated to ASB Group ☛ Sales to Russia,and China The best is to walk through the indictment included in the press released. #sanctions #sanctionscompliance #risk #KYC #oil #trade #Iran