The United States on Wednesday imposed fresh sanctions on several companies and individuals, including a Chandigarh-based businessman and his wife, for allegedly helping Iran evade restrictions on its oil trade.
Suniel Kumar Sharma and his wife, Jaspreet Preeti Shahid, supported Iran’s shadow fleet through a network involved in maritime fraud, according to a statement released by the US treasury department.
The sanctions are part of the Trump administration’s “Operation Economic Outcast”, aimed at isolating Iran and cutting off its oil revenues, which Washington alleges are being used to fund its war with Israel and America. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said the US would take action against anyone supporting the Iranian regime. “We know where you are, and we will sanction those who continue supporting the Iranian regime, whether by land, sea, or air,” Bessent said. “As we have said many times, under Operation Economic Outcast, you are either with us or against us,” he added. Sharma and Shahid allegedly defrauded maritime regulatory authorities in multiple jurisdictions to set up fake vessel flagging authorities and maritime classification societies, according to the treasury department. “Sharma and Shahid’s operations began as early as 2014, when the couple sought to impersonate the flagging authority of the Caribbean nation of Dominica,” the treasury department said. The department said the network also operated websites claiming to provide maritime services on behalf of countries that had not authorised them.
These services included vessel flagging, seafarer training and certification, and vessel classification.