The United States sanctioned nearly 50 individuals and entities that comprise branches of a “shadow banking” network processing billions of dollars for Iran’s military.
According to the reports, the money is funneled to Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), both already sanctioned by Washington.
The new sanctions target individuals and entities in several locations, including Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, the Marshall Islands, and Iran itself.
The US Department of the Treasury described shadow banking networks as “multi-jurisdictional illicit finance systems which grant sanctioned Iranian entities access to the international financial system and obfuscate their trade with foreign customers.”
Treasury noted that subsidiaries of MODAFL “manufacture advanced conventional weapons, including ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, which are used by Iran’s military, including the IRGC, or exported to other countries such as Russia,” as well as “partner groups” such as the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
