{"id":114412,"date":"2026-03-07T13:06:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T16:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shipping.einnews.com\/article\/897849937"},"modified":"2026-03-07T13:06:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T16:06:24","slug":"subject-to-forfeiture-15m-funds-allegedly-linked-to-iranian-oil-shipping-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/07\/subject-to-forfeiture-15m-funds-allegedly-linked-to-iranian-oil-shipping-network\/","title":{"rendered":"Subject to forfeiture: $15M Funds Allegedly Linked to Iranian Oil Shipping Network"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Department of Justice filed two civil forfeiture complaints today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against more than $15.3 million allegedly used to fund an illicit Iranian oil distribution network.According to the complaints, the funds are subject to forfeiture because they afford a person a source of influence over the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the IRGC Quds Force (IRGC-QF), and are intended to promote ongoing violations of U.S. sanctions imposed under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA). The IRGC and the IRGC-QF are designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).<\/p>\n

The complaints allege that Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani (Shamkhani) has operated a network consisting of companies and individuals (the Shamkhani Network) engaged in selling and shipping Iranian oil and other commodities in violation of U.S. sanctions and obfuscating the source of the oil and role of Iranian persons and entities in the transactions. According to the complaints, the funds in question were being used to operate multiple distribution companies in the Shamkhani Network.<\/p>\n

According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which sanctioned Shamkhani on July 30, 2025, Shamkhani is \u201cthe son of Ali Shamkhani, a top political advisor to the Supreme Leader of Iran.\u201d Ali Shamkhani is the former head of Iran\u2019s National Defense Council, according to the complaints.<\/p>\n

In sanctioning Shamkhani, OFAC stated that the Shamkhani Network \u201ccomprises a vast fleet of vessels, ship management firms, and front companies \u2014 some posing as legitimate financial services firms \u2014 that launder billions in profits from global sales of Iranian and Russian crude oil and other petroleum products, most often to buyers in China.\u201d OFAC further stated that \u201c[t]he network employs significant measures to disguise its operations and obfuscate its ties to the Shamkhani family, Iran, and Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder President Trump\u2019s leadership, we have ZERO tolerance for foreign actors using the U.S. financial system to prop up our nation\u2019s enemies,\u201d said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. \u201cThis defendant was allegedly supporting the IRGC with millions of dollars in violation of U.S. sanctions \u2014 he will now pay a heavy price.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s civil forfeiture complaints illustrate the Criminal Division\u2019s steadfast mission to prevent Iranian-backed shadow companies from using the U.S. financial system to support terrorist organizations, in violation of U.S. sanctions against Iran,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General Tysen A. Duva of the Justice Department\u2019s Criminal Division. \u201cShamkhani and the Shamkhani Network allegedly attempted to clandestinely use U.S. financial institutions to enrich themselves by evading sanctions on Iran and benefit Iran\u2019s terrorist networks. The Department of Justice will use all of the tools at our disposal to prevent the U.S. banking system from being used in any manner to support Iran and its terrorist operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShamkhani runs a vast network of shell companies used to evade U.S. sanctions and launder funds for the Iranian regime and its terrorist proxies,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. \u201cToday\u2019s forfeiture actions reflect the National Security Division\u2019s commitment to dismantling the illicit financial networks that have helped to enable Iran to oppress its own people at home and sow instability abroad, including through funding terrorism worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will continue to aggressively enforce U.S. sanctions against the Iranian regime that has sowed instability and violence in the Middle East,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia. \u201cWorking with our partners, we will dismantle the Iranian regime\u2019s ability to fund its illicit activities by seizing and forfeiting any funds that the regime launders through the U.S. financial system.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMohammad Hossein Shamkhani and his network allegedly violated U.S. sanctions by running an illegal scheme to sell millions of dollars\u2019 worth of Iranian oil, and today\u2019s forfeiture complaints seek to seize funds that would otherwise enrich Shamkhani and benefit international terrorist organizations,\u201d said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI\u2019s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. \u201cThe FBI will not sit back and watch as criminal actors threaten the integrity of our financial systems and jeopardize U.S. national and economic security. With our partners at home and abroad, we will continue following the money and hold accountable all who attempt to undermine international sanctions and fund terrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy working alongside our law enforcement partners, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is fulfilling its mission to investigate and dismantle illicit financial networks that attempt to circumvent U.S. sanctions and support foreign terrorist organizations,\u201d said Special Agent in Charge Eric Weindorf of the HSI Washington, D.C. Field Office. \u201cThe Shamkhani Network\u2019s efforts to launder millions of dollars through front companies underscore the importance of our work to protect the integrity of the financial<\/a> system and prevent funds from reaching dangerous criminals. I commend our HSI Washington, D.C. special agents for their hard work and dedication to this effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) remains steadfast in pursuing those who exploit the financial<\/a> system to support terrorist organizations,\u201d said Executive Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter of the IRS-CI Washington, D.C. Field Office. \u201cWe will follow the money, wherever it leads, to protect national security. Today\u2019s filing demonstrates IRS Criminal Investigation and our law enforcement partners commitment to protecting the integrity of the U.S. financial system.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the complaint filed in case 26-cv-802, $12,973,529 of the seized funds were intended for use by Wellbred Capital Pte, Ltd. (Wellbred) and its subsidiary Wellbred Trading DMCC (Wellbred Trading), two companies that were acquired and operated by Shamkhani and his associates to maintain a \u201cbrand\u201d that was not publicly perceived to be affiliated with Shamkhani or Iran. As alleged in the complaint, despite this public-facing image, Wellbred and Wellbred Trading were actually operated by Shamkhani and his close associates, not the nominal leadership of those companies, for the benefit of the Shamkhani Network and Iran. Shamkhani maintained organizational charts and diagrams showing Wellbred\u2019s place in the Shamkhani Network:
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According to complaint 1:26-cv-00807, $2,400,000 of the seized funds were intended for use by Sea Lead Shipping Pte, Ltd. (Sea Lead) and its affiliate entity, Sea Lead Shipping Agency India PV (Sea Lead India). As alleged in the complaint, Sea Lead and Sea Lead India were intended to provide shipping services to the Shamkhani Network. The complaint alleges that, as with Wellbred, Shamkhani maintained organizational charts showing Sea Lead\u2019s place in the Shamkhani Network:<\/p>\n

The FBI Minneapolis Field Office; HSI Washington D.C. Field Office; and IRS-CI Global Illicit Finance Team (GIFT) are investigating the case.<\/p>\n

Senior Trial Attorney Peter M. Nothstein and Trial Attorneys Mark H. Goldberg, Katlin K. O\u2019Brien and Jonathan C. Lowry of the Criminal Division\u2019s Money Laundering, Narcotics, and Forfeiture Section (MNF); Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Barry for the District of Columbia; and Acting Deputy Chief Sean Heiden of the National Security Division\u2019s Counterintelligence and Export Controls Section (CES) are prosecuting the case.<\/p>\n

The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section\u2019s Bank Integrity Unit investigates and prosecutes banks and other financial institutions, including their officers, managers and employees whose actions threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system.<\/p>\n

A civil forfeiture complaint is merely an allegation. The burden to prove forfeitability in a civil forfeiture proceeding is upon the government.<\/p>\n

Updated March 6, 2026<\/p>\n

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… Network) engaged in selling and shipping<\/span> Iranian oil and other … for use by Sea Lead Shipping<\/span> Pte, Ltd. (Sea Lead) … its affiliate entity, Sea Lead Shipping<\/span> Agency India PV (Sea … India were intended to provide shipping<\/span> services to the Shamkhani Network. The …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114412\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}