A vast plan to circumvent Western sanctions. This is what Tehran tried to do by opening accounts in two banking establishments based in London. The British bank Lloyds, and the English subsidiary of the Spanish bank Santander. Information revealed this Monday, February 5 by our colleagues from Financial Times.
“Iran used two of Britain’s biggest banks to secretly transfer money around the world as part of a vast sanctions-evasion program backed by Tehran’s intelligence services,” says the British business daily. .
Shell companies, cogs of the circumvention system
More precisely, Iran would have used British front companies to evade American sanctions which have been in effect since 2018. Entities which in reality belong to the Petrochemical Commercial Company (PCC). An Iranian petrochemical company controlled by the state and hit by American sanctions.
And for good reason, the oilman is accused by Washington of collecting millions of dollars for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. US intelligence also suspects the CCP of collaborating with Russian intelligence to obtain funds for Iranian proxy militias. But thanks to this system of shell companies, combined with the strategic placement of personalities at their head, the PCC would have succeeded in circumventing these sanctions.
Among these offshore companies, Aria Associated, whose official owner Mohamed Ali Rejalqui, is none other than the deputy general manager of PCC UK. A configuration which echoes that of another front company, Pisco UK, officially owned by Abdollah-Siauash Fahimi. A British national, also known to be the former administrator of PCC UK.
Transits through Asia
Already last year, the US Treasury had accused Iranian petrochemical companies of using front entities to evade sanctions by routing their sales through Asia. Suspicions which confirm the recent discoveries of Financial Timesaccording to which Pisco’s Santander account received a payment from a Chinese company called Black Tulip in 2021.
Another notable fact: in an email dating from July 2021, the owner of Aria Associates, Mohamed Ali Rejal allegedly asked his accounting agent to transfer the money from China to his Lloyds bank account, taking care to conceal any reference to the PCC or the UK subsidiary of the PCC.
Banks accused of violating sanctions
Accused of not respecting the sanctions imposed on Tehran, Santander and Lloyds defended themselves from any violation of the measures taken by Washington. “We have put in place policies and procedures to ensure that we comply with sanctions requirements,” assured the British subsidiary of the Spanish bank.
Same story with Lloyds Banking Group. “We believe we have complied with all legal and regulatory obligations and, based on our own investigation, we do not believe we have violated any sanctions requirements.” The banking establishment, however, explains that it is not able to communicate more precisely on the situation of its customers.