Dominica Passport Linked to Sanctioned Iranian Oil Network, Says U.S.
The United States has imposed its most sweeping sanctions on Iran since 2018, targeting an extensive oil shipping network allegedly used to skirt global restrictions. At the heart of the operation is a Dominica-issued passport, reportedly obtained under the alias “Hugo Hayek” by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani — the son of a top advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader.
According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Shamkhani used the Dominican passport, acquired through the country’s Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme, to obscure his identity and circumvent international scrutiny. The document allegedly facilitated his involvement in laundering billions of dollars through illicit Iranian and Russian oil sales, primarily to Chinese buyers.
The new sanctions, announced on July 30, include 115 designations across 17 countries. The measures target 52 vessels, 15 shipping companies, and 53 entities accused of enabling the sale and shipment of sanctioned oil.
U.S. officials warned that anyone involved in the Iranian oil trade risks being cut off from the American financial system. The revelations are expected to reignite concerns about the integrity of Caribbean CBI programmes and their potential exploitation by individuals seeking to evade international sanctions.
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What this does is put additional pressure on all the OECS countries offering Citizenship By Investment Initiative. The US is likely to bring the hammer down on us all even more because they feel that the CIP has allowed and enabled persons from US restricted and sanctioned countries to use their foreign gotten passport to hide their true identity as a means of avoiding and evading US restrictions. The US is getting frustrated with these CIP countries and might soon throw the “proverbial book” at them all.
@Audley.
Go tell that to GB, because on here are, many are claiming that his administration and their lacks immigration policies has a very small blame in what’s happening in Antigua.
Criminals are not stupid, so when you have the situation with the ” Antigua Airways” debacle, you definitely know that they are looking to see how they can exploit any soft country.
The youth are watching as well, because they see adults getting a slap on the wrist for many gun and drug crimes in Antigua.
A few of them spend a few years in prison only to be released or their case overturned on appeal.
So you go tell GM everything you just mentioned in your post, because I’ve been warning and warning these jokers for too long now.
I always said that Antigua is a ” fringe economy”.all the joy is on the outside looking in, when the center is crumbling and suffering.
All the ill-gotten gains this government has made over the years from its CBI program, has not gone back into the center of the economy, it is missing, because it’s gone straight into the pockets of the corrupt elites.
They killed Asot over what he knew, trust me on that one.