According to recently disclosed court documents and a statement issued by the Department of Justice on Friday, the US authorities seized roughly 1 million barrels of Iranian oil that were reportedly headed for China.
Numerous organizations connected to Iran’s IRGC and the IRGC-Qods Force were engaged
According to the DOJ, this is the first criminal result ever involving a business that enabled the illegal sale and transportation of Iranian oil.
In an article from CNN, the press release said that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a group that the US has designated as a foreign terrorist organization, sent more than 980,000 barrels of oil.
According to court records, the DOJ asserted that numerous organizations connected to Iran’s IRGC and the IRGC-Qods Force were engaged in the plot to conceal the oil’s origin and illegally sell it to China.
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IRGC is accused of engaging in a wide range of immoral acts about Iranian oil
According to court documents, the IRGC is accused of engaging in a wide range of immoral acts, including the spread of WMD and their delivery systems, support for terrorism, and violations of international and national human rights.
Empire Navigation, the corporation in charge of the ship transporting the oil, entered a guilty plea to conspiring to break the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in April. The IRCG received a nearly $2.5 million fine and a three-year corporate probationary period. According to the DOJ, the company’s vessel, Suez Rajan Limited, carried the contraband to the US and racked up the substantial costs related to the vessel’s journey there, reports from Yahoo News.
Empire Navigation has been contacted by CNN for comment about Iranian oil.
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