F.P. Report
WASHINGTON DC: The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Friday, designated individuals and businesses involved in an international oil smuggling network that supports Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF). Senior IRGC-QF officials use proceeds from their involvement in Iranian oil exports to help fund the group’s destabilizing regional activities. OFAC’s action targets a foreign broker, Mahmood Rashid Amur Al Habsi, who has partnered with senior IRGC-QF officials and used several companies to facilitate shipments of Iranian oil to foreign customers, including buyers in East Asia.
“The IRGC-QF is using revenues from its Iranian petroleum sales to fund its malign activities at the expense of the Iranian people,” said Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control Andrea M. Gacki. “These sales rely on key foreign intermediaries to obscure the IRGC-QF’s involvement, and Treasury will continue to disrupt and expose anyone supporting these efforts.”
Today’s action is being taken pursuant to the counterterrorism authority, Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended. The IRGC-QF was designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 in 2007 for support to numerous terrorist groups.
MAHMOOD RASHID AMUR AL HABSI
Omani national Al Habsi has facilitated the sale and shipment of Iranian oil through his companies to obscure the IRGC-QF’s involvement. Al Habsi’s companies have transported shipments worth tens of millions of dollars. Al Habsi has worked in partnership with senior IRGC-QF officials, including Rostam Ghasemi, who was previously designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 in 2019 for acting for or on behalf of the IRGC-QF, and has managed a vast network of individuals, shipping and oil companies, and vessels to sell Iranian petroleum products for the group’s benefit. As part of his oversight of shipping operations, Al Habsi has tampered with the automated identification systems that are onboard vessels, forged shipping documents, and paid bribes, circumventing restrictions related to Iran.
Al Habsi is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the IRGC-QF.
Al Habsi used his Oman-based company, Nimr International L.L.C., to facilitate the sale and shipment of Iranian oil in support of the IRGC-QF. Nimr International L.L.C. is be-ing designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, f-or being owned, controlled, or directed by, directly or indirectly, Al Habsi.
Al Habsi also used Om-an-based Orbit Petrochem-icals Trading LLC to facilitate Iranian oil deals that obscure the IRGC-QF’s in-volvement. Orbit Petroch-emicals Trading LLC is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for being owned, contro-lled, or directed by, directly or indirectly, Nimr International L.L.C.
Bravery Maritime Corporation, a Liberian-registered company, is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for being owned, controlled, or directed by, directly or indirectly, Al Habsi. The Liberian-flagged crude oil tanker Oman Pride, which has been used to transport Iranian oil, is being identified as property in which Bravery Maritime Corporation has an interest.
Romania-based Nimr International S.R.L. is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for being owned, controlled, or directed by, directly or indirectly, Al Habsi.
As a result of today’s designations, all property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction of the persons designated are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with the designated persons or their blocked property. In addition, foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate significant transactions for, or persons that provide material or certain other support to, the persons designated today risk exposure to sanctions that could sever their access to the U.S. financial system or block their property or interests in property under U.S. jurisdiction.
The following individuals have been added to OFAC’s SDN List:
AL HABSI, Mahmood Rashid Amur (a.k.a. AL HABSI, Mahmood Rashid Amer; a.k.a. AL-HABSI, Mahmood; a.k.a. AL-HABSI, Mahmud bin Rashid), Muscat, Oman; DOB 15 Jul 1984; POB Muscat, Oman; nationality Oman; Additional Sanctions Information – Subject to Secondary Sanctions; Gender Male; Passport 03785555 (Oman); National ID No. 7668871 (Oman) (individual) [SDGT] [IFSR] (Linked To: ISLAMIC REVOLUTIONARY GUARD CORPS (IRGC)-QODS FORCE).
MARTINEZ FERNANDEZ, Pedro Orlando, Cuba; DOB 1971 to 1973; nationality Cuba; Gender Male (individual) [GLOMAG].
SOTOMAYOR GARCIA, Romarico Vidal, Cuba; DOB 04 Nov 1938; POB Bartolome Maso, Granma, Cuba; nationality Cuba; Gender Male (individual) [GLOMAG].
The following entities have been added to OFAC’s SDN List:
BRAVERY MARITIME CORPORATION (a.k.a. BRAVERY MARITIME CORP), Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Liberia; Addit-ional Sanctions Information – Subject to Secondary Sanctions; Registration Country Liberia; Identification Number IMO 6161246 (Liberia) [SDGT] (Linked To: AL HABSI, Mahmood Rashid Amur).
NIMR INTERNATIONAL L.L.C. (a.k.a. “NIMR IRAQ BRANCH”), Office No. 1, 5th Floor, Al Nadha Towers 2, Ghala Industrial Area, Muscat, Oman; 501 Al Nadha Towers 2, Building 220 Way No 5007, Muscat, Oman; PO Box 254, Muscat, Oman; Hayy al Fayha’ -al Amin al Da-khili Dur al Dubat. Building number 44/234, Locality No. 445, Ally No. 46, Secti-on House No. 44/3, Third floor, Office, Basrah Prov-ince, Iraq; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Port Um Qasr, Iraq; Additional San-ctions Information – Subject to Secondary Sanctions; Business Registration Nu-mber 1037675 (Oman); alt. Business Registration Num-ber 5670 (Iraq) [SDGT] (Linked To: AL HABSI, Mahmood Rashid Amur).
NIMR INTERNATIONAL S.R.L., STR. Horea NR. 80-82A AP. 13, Cluj-Nap-oca 400001, Romania; Ad-ditional Sanctions Inform-ation – Subject to Secondary Sanctions; Business Regis-tration Number J12/16-51/2020 (Romania) [SDGT-] (Linked To: AL HABSI, Mahmood Rashid Amur).
ORBIT PETROCHEMICALS TRADING LLC (a.-k.a. ORBIT PETROCHE-MICALS; a.k.a. ORBIT PETROCHEMICALS LLC), P.O. Box 2800, Seeb, Muscat, Oman; Additional Sanctions Information – Subject to Secondary Sanctions; Business Registration Number 1089008 (Oman) [SDGT] (Linked To: NIMR INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.).
TROPAS DE PREVENCION, Cuba [GLOMAG].
The following vessel has been added to OFAC’s SDN List: OMAN PRIDE Crude Oil Tanker Liberia flag; Additional Sanctions Infor-mation – Subject to Second-ary Sanctions; Vessel Registration Identification IMO 9153525 (vessel) [SDGT] (Linked To: BRAVERY MARITIME CORPORATION).
Treasury Sanctions Cuban Ministry of Interior Officials and Military Unit in Response to Violence Against Peaceful Demons-trators: The U.S. Departm-ent of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned two Cuban individuals and one Cuban entity pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world. This is the third round of sanctions since protests started in Cuba on July 11, 2021, as Treasury continues to aggressively target pers-ons in connection with act-ions to suppress peaceful, pro-democratic protests in Cuba. The targets of today’s designations are Romarico Vidal Sotomayor Garcia (S-otomayor) and Pedro Orla-ndo Martinez Fernandez (Martinez) of the Cuban Ministry of the Interior (MININT); and the Tropas de Prevencion (TDP) of the Cuban Ministry of Revolut-ionary Armed Forces (MINFAR). “The Treasury Department will continue to designate those who enable the Cuban government to perpetuate human rights abuses against peaceful demonstrators,” said Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control Andrea M. Gacki. “Today’s action shines a spotlight on additional perpetrators responsible for suppressing the Cuban people’s calls for freedom and respect for human rights.”
In addition to the sanctions imposed today under the Global Magnitsky program, OFAC continues to enforce the Cuba sanctions program. With exceptions and licenses to ensure that certain categories of activity are allowed that directly benefit the Cuban people, including for humanitarian purposes, OFAC administers an economic embargo on Cuba that prohibits persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction from engaging transactions involving property in which Cuba or a Cuban national has an interest. In addition, the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 515 (CACR), block the property and interests in property of all Cuban nationals (unless unblocked) — regardless of whether they appear on Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List). The Treasury Department will continue to enforce these prohibitions consistent with applicable statutes and regulations.
Since the beginning of the July 2021 protests in Cuba, the Cuban regime has dispatched security forces to suppress peaceful dem-onstrators, deploying units from both MININT and MINFAR. Sotomayor is the chief of the Political Direc-torate of MININT, which has deployed, amongst ot-her forces, the Brigada Esp-ecial Nacional del Minist-erio del Interior (SNB) and the Policia Nacional Revolucionaria (PNR), both previously designated by OFAC. Martinez is the chief of the Political Directorate of the PNR. The SNB and PNR, along with other MININT security forces and the TDP, have violently attacked and arrested protestors across Cuba.
The TDP, also known as “Boinas Rojas” or Red Ber-ets, is a unit of the Revo-lutionary Armed Forces (FAR) that is commanded by MINFAR and functions as military police. During the recent protests, TDP soldiers have been deplo-yed, and in one instance have been involved in a violent engagement with a protestor. Sotomayor and Martinez were designated pursuant to E.O. 13818 for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, MIN-INT. MININT was previously designated by OFAC pursuant to E.O. 13818 on January 15, 2021 for being responsible for or complicit in, or having directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human rights abuse.
