The DOJ filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking the seizure of over one million barrels of Iranian gasoil currently headed to Venezuela on board four tanker vessels. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a warrant, ordering that the cargo be brought under its jurisdiction.

The forfeiture Complaint alleges that the gasoil cargo is the property of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ("IRGC"), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (or "FTO"), and an entity subject to U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC. The gasoil is currently aboard four vessels, identified as the Bella, the Bering, the Pandi, and the Luna. The Complaint relies on publicly available automated identification system (or "AIS") tracking data showing that each of the four vessels loaded its cargo via ship-to-ship transfer - a method of sanctions evasion that OFAC and other agencies have previously warned against.

Commentary James Treanor

The DOJ's forfeiture action is part of a Trump administration effort to exert maximum pressure on the Iranian government. The IRGC is the Trump administration's primary target within Iran, having been accused of financing and promoting terrorist activities, as well as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and human rights abuses. While sanctions remain the primary weapon in the U.S. government's economic arsenal, forfeiture actions like this one can act as a useful backstop by affording a means to deprive a hostile foreign power of revenue even when transactions slip through the sanctions net. For example, in 2019 the DOJ filed a civil forfeiture action for the seizure of the cargo vessel "Wise Honest," which was alleged to have been carrying North Korean coal in violation of U.S. and UN sanctions. In that case, the ship was successfully transferred to the possession of the United States with the assistance of cooperative authorities in Indonesia. Also in 2019, the DOJ (unsuccessfully) tried to seize a vessel carrying Iranian oil to Syria, which was detained and later released by authorities in Gibraltar. In the current case involving IRGC gasoil, the four tankers remain at sea, and the final destination of their cargo has yet to be determined.

Originally published July 02, 2020.

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