On December 30, the U.S. Department of the Treasury targeted nine individuals and entities for helping the Iranian government evade sanctions and for human rights abuses related to censorship. The Treasury also updated information related to 30 ships blocked for their affiliation with the sanctioned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines. “Although we do not support the imposition of any new nuclear-related sanctions while negotiations are ongoing, throughout the JPOA [Joint Plan of Action] period we have made clear, by word and deed, that we will continue to enforce our existing sanctions. Today’s actions underscore this commitment,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen. The following are excerpts from the press release.
Purchase or Acquisition of U.S. Bank Notes by the Government of Iran / Material Support to the Central Bank of Iran under Executive Order (E.O.) 13622
Treasury designated the following five individuals and one entity under E.O. 13622 for materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for the purchase or acquisition of U.S. bank notes by the Government of Iran: Hossein Zeidi, Seyed Kamal Yasini, Azizullah Asadullah Qulandary, Asadollah Seifi, Teymour Ameri, and Belfast General Trading.
The Iranian government contracted with Zeidi and Yasini to convert Iranian funds denominated in non-Iranian local currency into U.S. dollars. To date, these individuals and their network have effected the delivery of hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. dollar bank notes to the Iranian government in violation of E.O. 13622. UAE-based Zeidi was responsible for converting foreign currency into U.S. bank notes, and Yasini facilitated the delivery of U.S. bank notes to the Iranian government.
Afghan national Qulandary worked with Yasini to convert Iranian government funds into U.S. dollars and deliver these bank notes to the Iranian government. Qulandary, Yasini, and Belfast General Trading collaborated to deliver U.S. bank notes to Iran. To date, Belfast General Trading has converted over $250 million, and Qulandary has dispatched couriers to hand carry this money to Tehran.
Since mid-2014, Seifi and Ameri have each delivered hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. bank notes to the Iranian government in contravention of E.O. 13622.
Additionally, Asia Bank official Anahita Nasirbeik is being designated under E.O. 13622 for materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or goods and services in support of, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), or the purchase or acquisition of U.S. bank notes by the Iranian government. In mid-2014, Asia Bank converted and facilitated the delivery from Moscow to Tehran of U.S. bank notes valued at more than $10 million to representatives of the Iranian government. Nasirbeik coordinated the deposit, conversion, delivery, and payment of the U.S bank notes. Asia Bank is an Iranian-owned bank that has provided support to the CBI and was designated by the Treasury Department under E.O. 13622 in August 2014.
Sanctions Related to Iran’s Support for Human Rights Abuses
Iranian information technology firm Douran Software Technologies is being designated under E.O. 13628, which targets censorship or other activities that limit the freedom of expression or assembly of the Iranian people since the June 2009 election. Douran Software Technologies acted on behalf of The Committee to Determine Instances of Criminal Content, which was previously designated under E.O. 13628, in connection with the filtering of prohibited web pages. Douran Software Technologies is one of the main vendors for an Iranian government project to monitor computer activity.
Iranian company Abyssec is being designated under E.O. 13553 for providing support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which was designated under E.O. 13553 in June 2011 for committing serious human rights abuses. Abyssec was used by the IRGC to train its employees in cyber tradecraft and to develop offensive information operations capabilities. Abyssec assisted the IRGC with hacking projects involving web applications and web server services. Abyssec was considered a critical component of the IRGC's cyber program. E.O. 13553 targets human rights abuses perpetrated by officials of the Iranian government and persons acting on behalf of the Iranian government since the June 2009 election.
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