DOJ Seeks to Forfeit $15 Million From Iran Oil Baron’s Firms

(Bloomberg) — The U.S. Justice Department on Friday filed two civil forfeiture complaints related to a network of companies run by an Iranian oil tycoon that was sanctioned last year and allegedly violated prohibitions in using its global banking network.

The federal court complaints seek the forfeiture of more than $15 million allegedly used to finance an illegal Iranian oil distribution network operated by Hossein Shamkhani, the son of a top adviser to Iran’s former supreme leader.

The proceeds were some of the billions of dollars the U.S. government alleges were laundered from the sale of Iranian and Russian oil to buyers mostly in China, according to the filings.

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Shamkhani last July, before the latest US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

A multi-year Bloomberg News investigation showed how Shamkhani built a secret business empire spanning Iranian oil sales, Russian arms deals and even a London hedge fund. Through a network of tankers, trading firms and front companies, the network generated tens of billions of dollars in profits, according to the U.S. Treasury.

Operating under aliases such as “H” and “Hector,” Shamkhani kept a low public profile even as his firms serviced international oil buyers and traded with Wall Street banks, Bloomberg reported. Although the latest sanctions have disrupted some of the network’s activities, people familiar with the matter say the group is reorganizing itself to remain a major player in the market.

Shamkhani has denied any wrongdoing.

One of the cases is USA v. $12,973,529, 26-cv-802, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).

(Updates with Bloomberg News research in fifth paragraph and video.)

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