The United States has imposed sanctions on a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Indian national and four companies linked to him for their alleged involvement in the trade and transportation of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products. The move is part of the US Treasury Department's ongoing "maximum pressure campaign" against Iran.

According to the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Indian national, Jugwinder Singh Brar, is the owner of a network of shipping companies that collectively possess nearly 30 vessels. OFAC alleges that many of these vessels operate as part of Iran's "shadow fleet," a term used to describe vessels involved in the trade of oil and petroleum products from countries under sanctions, such as Iran.

In addition to Brar himself, the US Treasury has sanctioned four of his companies:

•             Global Tankers (India)

•             B and P Solutions (India)

•             Prime Tankers (UAE)

•             Glory International (UAE)

OFAC asserts that these four companies own and operate vessels that have been used to "transport Iranian oil on behalf of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and the Iranian military."

The US agency further alleges that Brar's vessels engage in high-risk ship-to-ship (STS) transfers of Iranian petroleum in waters near Iraq, Iran, the UAE, and the Gulf of Oman. These transfers are said to be a tactic used to obscure the origin of the oil. Following these transfers, the cargoes are reportedly delivered to other parties who blend the Iranian oil with products from other countries and falsify shipping documents to conceal its Iranian origin.

OFAC also accused Brar of coordinating with "illicit shipping associates" of Sa'id al-Jamal, who is described as an Iran-backed financier for the Houthi militia in Yemen.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated, "The Iranian regime relies on its network of unscrupulous shippers and brokers like Brar and his companies to enable its oil sales and finance its destabilizing activities...The United States remains focused on disrupting all elements of Iran's oil exports, particularly those who seek to profit from this trade."

OFAC emphasized its commitment to "aggressively targeting Iran's oil supply chain," including imposing sanctions on those facilitating Iran's oil exports to key third countries and the broader international market. The agency highlighted the complex methods used to circumvent sanctions, including shell companies, clandestine smuggling, STS transfers, oil storage and blending, and document falsification.

It is worth noting that this is not the first instance of Indian companies facing US sanctions for alleged involvement in sanctioned energy trade. In recent times, several smaller, lesser-known Indian entities have been targeted by the US for their purported role in facilitating the transportation of oil and gas from countries under sanctions.