US DoJ announces first ever criminal resolution for sale of Iranian oil

Article summary

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has announced that the first ever criminal resolution involving a company that has violated sanctions by facilitating the illicit sale and transport of Iranian Oil has taken place. The DoJ has reported that on April 19 2023 Suez Rajan Limited pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 1977 (IEEPA 1977), and that on that same date the company was sentenced to three years of corporate probation as well as a fine of almost US$2.5m. The contraband cargo is now the subject of a civil forfeiture action in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. The complaint alleges that the scheme involved multiple entities affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the IRAC-Qods Force. These are both designated by the US as foreign terrorist organisations. The DoJ has noted that the complaint alleges that participants in the scheme attempted...