meta_id 3216683

On June 5, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated a network of individuals, entities, and vessels involved in smuggling hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Iranian-origin liquid petroleum gas (LPG), falsely marketed as Omani LPG, to end users in South and East Asia. The network operated front companies in the United Arab Emirates and China, utilised foreign bank accounts, and deployed Iran's shadow fleet to transport millions of barrels of Iranian LPG while concealing its Iranian origin and evading U.S. sanctions. The designations target two primary schemes. First, OFAC designated Afghan national Sarbaz Abdul Zada and Turkish national Mohammad Shakol Mihandoust, who operate UAE-based front companies including Butani Trading LLC, Dundlod Trading FZE, and ADH Energy FZE. These entities shipped tens of thousands of metric tons of Iranian LPG worth tens of millions of dollars to South Asia, particularly Bangladesh. OFAC also designated six vessels used to transport Iranian LPG, including the LPG SEVAN, MD 23, GLENDALE, AMIR GAS, GAS LAGOON, MILE, and GAZ GMS. Second, OFAC designated Iranian exchange house Mehrdad Geramian Nik and Partners Company and its leadership for facilitating hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign currency transactions on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks, including Bank Tejarat, Bank Mellat, and Bank Pasargad. The exchange house held tens of millions of dollars in foreign currency on behalf of sanctioned Iranian bank customers as of early 2026. These designations advance Treasury's Economic Fury campaign, which aims to restrict Iran's access to revenue used for weapons development and support of terrorist proxies. All property and interests in property of designated persons in the United States or controlled by U.S. persons are blocked. U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in transactions involving blocked persons unless authorised by OFAC or exempt. Violations may result in civil or criminal penalties. Non-U.S. persons are also prohibited from causing U.S. persons to violate sanctions or engaging in conduct that evades U.S. sanctions.