US seizes nearly 1 million barrels of Iranian oil allegedly bound for China
US seizes nearly 1 million barrels of Iranian oil allegedly bound for China | CNN Politics
The legal grounds: The oil was shipped by a US company in violation of US law. American companies can't do business with an organisation that the US government has designated as a terrorist organisation. Thus American authorities siezed the ship and its cargo.
The worlds largest terrorist state gets to dictate who is terrorist?
When you're running your company on US soil, yeah.
Yep. Anyone can do that, actually. I can declare you a terrorist. It's totally my right to do so, but the question is–so what? What am I going to do about it?
The US government has declared the Iranian organisation a terrorist organisation. What have they done about it?
The amount of outrage on this thread is just ignorant people learning how international geopolitics and the concept of absolute state sovereignty work for the first time. Yes, it is the case that big countries get to stick their fingers into the business of little countries. Yes, it is unfair. But that's how it is and that's how it's always gonna be for the foreseeable future. That's how it always has been for all of human history. From Ur to Rome to Vienna to London to Washington. From Chang'an to Beijing to Nanjing to Tokyo and now back to Beijing. In the next century maybe it will be some other country kicking around everyone else instead of the US. But I can practically guarantee that there will be kicking and there will be people continuing to complain about how unfair it is, because it is and always has been.
I'd like to say we should do better as a species, but in reality, what we have now is really fucking amazing compared to when Genghis Khan would come romping around town destroying your villages and murdering your people, or the Romans coming and demanding fifty talents of silver by sunset or else, or the Belgians planting rubber trees in your backyard.
State actors, by definition are not terrorists.
The legal grounds: it is ok when we do it. This is just old fashioned piracy, but of course you'll try to justify it.
The ship was not intercepted by the Navy. They served a court order on the company and the company turned the ship back and its cargo was seized
Why is this person getting upvotes for clearly lying. Empire Navigation is based in Greece. Here’s more info: Source.
But the company pleaded guilty...
china? is that you?
The contraband cargo is now the subject of a civil forfeiture action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The United States’ forfeiture complaint alleges that the oil aboard the vessel is subject to forfeiture based on U.S. terrorism and money laundering statutes.
The complaint alleges a scheme involving multiple entities affiliated with Iran’s IRGC and the IRGC-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) to covertly sell and transport Iranian oil to a customer abroad. Participants in the scheme attempted to disguise the origin of the oil using ship-to-ship transfers, false automatic identification system reporting, falsified documents and other means. The complaint further alleges that the charterer of the vessel used the U.S. financial system to facilitate the transportation of Iranian oil
So...will they seize the companies assets and arrest the CEO for violating the sanctions?
Because that's how you stop this shit.
Seizing over a hundred million of oil is a pretty big ouch to any business
For business sure. But what about consequences for the people who made the decisions?
Not for the shipping company. It's not their oil. The Iranians can ask the shipping company for compensation, which they could easily refuse and there isn't much recourse that the Iranians would have. The Chinese could demand compensation but if the company again refuses or claims insolvency or whatever, it's easier for the Chinese to just stiff the Iranians with payment instead.
A dream that won't come true, these people only see this as part of the risk of doing business and will try again in the same way, hoping to not get caught, or will find a legal loophole.
You want the United States to arrest someone in Greece for transporting oil from Iran to China? I don't see how it's any of our fucking business.
The company is Greek.
The company is Greek.
The ship was owned by a US company:
"But the Suez Rajan case was unique at the time of the transfer because it was owned by the Los Angeles-based private equity firm Oaktree Capital Management. "
Oaktree Capital Management doesn't sound very Greek to me. Maybe it's because the company is based in Los Angeles....
If it does business in the US, its a US company.
There is a lot of misreporting and misunderstanding about this. OFAC (Office of Foreign Asset Control) exists within Treasury and is responsible for enforcing sanctions usually created by executive order ("EO"), or very rarely, Congress. EOs and OFAC interpretation are very specific: some sanctions, such as the ones on the export of Iranian crude/products, are explicitly extraterritorial. Meaning, the US reserves the right to come after you no matter what country you are a citizen of or where you company is domiciled. It's very rare for them to try this one anyone who doesn't have US nexus since there is not much practically speaking they can do, but they could in theory. OFAC has, no pun intended, FAQs for all of this easily found at their site.
Now, this case was extra stupid. Oaktree is the single biggest PE investor in shipping, going in heavy starting a bit before the financial crash and going in really big with Eagle Bulk c. 2012 or so. Oaktree is, as stated, a US company, but that wasn't the main reason: they did this transaction in USD. Which was stupid, but having met the bastards at Empire a few times, I can say they are not the brightest bunch (as as far as I understand they are doing most of this kind of work in EUR with some shady banks nowadays anyway). Anyway any transaction in USD goes through the SWIFT system (which is why kicking Russia out of it was such a massive deal). This means there was simply no way this was not going to get eventually scanned since banks have repurposed their AML programs into sanctions programs or subscribe to sanctions-specific services like PoleStar's PupleTrac (what my company uses) or Windward or Lloyd's, etc. Now the dirty secret is that the banks don't really understand movement data that well, but Empires has done this (and Venezuela) so often for so long, someone at Treasury probably said, "OK, since we got Oaktree all up in this, let's make an example of of these guys to scare others away from these trades."
[spoiler alert: it did not scare others away from these trades and most folks estimate there are about 1,000 large tankers that form a so called "Dark Fleet" trading in Iran, Venezuela, and now Russia since both crude and product have broken the price cap at all Russian export locations. You cam make about 40% more shipping such cargos than legal ones.]
Anyway, I digress, The the point is that OFAC doesn't care if you have US nexus; it just makes you easier to catch if you do. Source: I am the head of credit and compliance for a large oil company that works closely with the shipping industry.
Now I'm curious to know how a head of compliance for a oil company found their way to kbin.social.
Lemmy isn't just programmers and cryptobros fyi. Lots of people have interesting jobs and hardly anyone works 100% of the time. Gotta shitpost somewhere.
Eh, for one we are hyper specialized oil company so not quite as evil as your run of the mill ones. We sell fuel to ships, so unless everyone suddenly agrees they don't need the 90% of the world's commodities and manufactured goods anymore, you gotta use ships. And in a moderate defense, ships by far the least polluting way to transport stuff by ton/mile.
Me personally I'm a big old lefty, even here within the EU's context (where the American Democrats would be a center-right party).I just fell into this role and happened to be good at it. My function is far too niche for any green energy projects. At the core of what we do and the bit I supervise, we are basically providing short term liquidity to shipping companies, since you sell fuel on unsecured credit. Believe me I've looked (and keep looking) at green and adjacent spaces.
OFAC stole a wire transfer to my landlord. I assume it's because he has a Middle Eastern-sounding name.
They provided me a case number and I mailed in the forms I found online to dispute the seizure. They sent me a letter saying that they had no record of that case. I realized the futility of fighting the government over a couple of grand and switched to depositing money orders into his account and let it go. Created a lot of extra effort (not that it was difficult, just tedious) on my end.
OFAC is a criminal organization.
No shit it's a criminal organization.
I’m sorry man but when it comes to international topics I can’t trust some faceless user on the internet for a run down of what happened.
Do you have any sources or directions you can point me in for more information about the inconsistencies in reporting?
(Just had a thought, we should have meta news agencies that analyze news agencies (including each other meta news agency))
Yeah my guy/gal non-binarny pal, I wouldn't take some Random Internet Person's word either (although I did mention where you could find it....)
End of my workday and I'm tired and maybe could have found some better examples, but here's the bit about going after foreign financial services: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-31/subtitle-B/chapter-V/part-561/subpart-B
I'm having trouble finding a clear example of the extraterritoriality of US sanctions against individuals, but it's defined in nearly every EO.
I am the head of credit and compliance for a large oil company that works closely with the shipping industry.
So, complicit in the destruction of the planet. Good job, Sparky!
Didn't you say something about being better and not attacking people like two hours ago in this exact thread.
If you heat your home you are exactly as complicit as he is
It's far more complicated than that. You need X amount of energy density to do Y amount of work, and there is certain specialized work that is only now beginning to look for replacements, although well-to-wake is tough to do.
They could at least give Iran back their oil. This is like when cops steal your jewelry and claim civil forfeiture.
The contraband cargo is now the subject of a civil forfeiture action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The United States’ forfeiture complaint alleges that the oil aboard the vessel is subject to forfeiture based on U.S. terrorism and money laundering statutes.
The complaint alleges a scheme involving multiple entities affiliated with Iran’s IRGC and the IRGC-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) to covertly sell and transport Iranian oil to a customer abroad. Participants in the scheme attempted to disguise the origin of the oil using ship-to-ship transfers, false automatic identification system reporting, falsified documents and other means. The complaint further alleges that the charterer of the vessel used the U.S. financial system to facilitate the transportation of Iranian oil
It's the same bullshit with the US "pay us taxes no matter where you are" bullshit.
It's clear international overreach just like everything else.
You can tell from the comments in this post that Americans are immune to propaganda.
In their view propaganda only comes from rouge nations, and their superior intellect safeguards them from the impact of foreign propaganda. Despite living in the worlds most propagandized country.
rouge nations
Can't tell if typo or extremely clever pun
I somehow don't think the US is more propagandized than, say, North Korea. I want a source on this or I'm just going to assume you're pulling it out of your ass.
... Orange man didn't get elected on his wit and charm.
"In addition, pursuant to a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) and a seizure warrant issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Empire Navigation, the operating company of the vessel carrying the contraband cargo, agreed to cooperate and transport the Iranian oil to the United States – an operation which has now concluded."
Link came from this CNN article. Would you say that ignoring the facts of a situation and using it to push an agenda would be, perhaps, propaganda?
Never heard of a little place called North Korea? Read a book.
Tankie loves their Putin daddy. Or I guess it's probably Xi these days. Iran and China can suck my left nut
What? In the article it does state, that the company had to pay for the significant expenses of bringing the ship to the US. So it was likely seized somewhere, where the US has no jurisdication. This is just piracy and it is in line with US crimes like murdering an Iranian diplomat, they invited to negotiations.
Critizising these blatant crime sby the US, that are similiar to what China is trying to pull in the Sea around East Asia has nothing to do, with being pro Putin or pro China.
But it is no wonder, that China and Russia can muster support around the world, despite the shit they pull, if the US is still acting high and mighty, while being drenched in blood.
you're really giving credit to the CIA on this lemmy thread? alright, I guess
I think the proper word here is "liberated"
Mission accomplished
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The US government seized nearly 1 million barrels of Iranian crude oil allegedly bound for China, according to newly unsealed court documents and a statement released by the Department of Justice on Friday.
“This is the first-ever criminal resolution involving a company that violated sanctions by facilitating the illicit sale and transport of Iranian oil,” according to the DOJ.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, allegedly shipped more than 980,000 barrels of oil, the press release stated.
The DOJ claimed that “multiple entities affiliated with Iran’s IRGC and the IRGC-Qods Force” were involved in the scheme to “disguise the origin of the oil” and illegally sell it to China, according to court documents.
The court filings also show allegations that “profits from oil sales support the IRGC’s full range of malign activities, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, support for terrorism and both domestic and international human rights abuses.”
In April, the company operating the ship carrying the oil, Empire Navigation, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The original article contains 239 words, the summary contains 184 words. Saved 23%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
US navy commiting piracy on the open seas because they're the only substantial naval force that exists globally
Seriously though, they do this to Argentina too lmao.
So much for free trade
read the article
It's not piracy when the ship literally sailed to Texas and delivered the oil as part of a plea bargain deal.
The US Navy was not involved.
Its only free when I say so
This is egregious big government overreach impeding business and free trade
It's countering money laundering by the IRGC. Read up.
You're talking to a troll. Don't engage.
Well, isn't that what they said? With universal free trade, there would be no concept of dirty money, no money laundering, no need to counter anything... /s
Money laundering for the sale of this oil. The money laundering is required because of US-imposed sanctions.
I can't stand for the free market being impeded by big government tyranny
The free market of ideas decided fuck around with human rights and find out you've made a powerful enemy.
Username checks out
Surely does.
ITT: "It's ok when we do it."
Of course it's okay we sanction human rights abusers. Europe does it, too. Am I supposed to disagree with another country's sanctions or something?
This but unironically.
The court filings also show allegations that “profits from oil sales support the IRGC’s full range of malign activities, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, support for terrorism and both domestic and international human rights abuses.”
"In addition, pursuant to a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) and a seizure warrant issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Empire Navigation, the operating company of the vessel carrying the contraband cargo, agreed to cooperate and transport the Iranian oil to the United States – an operation which has now concluded."
Is playing fast and loose with the facts also okay when you do it?
ITT: People not reading the article acting smugly superior, not realizing they're completely incorrect
I know, right?
Oh fuck… that seems serious
So privateer is a legitimate profession again?
The government served them a court order, they turned the ship around and handed it over. No US naval involvement, etc.
Always has been. U.S. Constitution Article 1, Section 8, clause 11.
I'm not sure how long the Chinese are going to tolerate this. They can surely seize American assets in retaliation. All because the orange guy had to replace the JCPOA Iran nuclear deal with nothing but sanctions.
All because the orange guy had to replace the JCPOA Iran nuclear deal with nothing but sanctions.
Biden has maintained and increased those sanctions in response to Iran maintaining and increasing their human rights abuses. This isn't a fuck up.
Chinese are going to tolerate this.
Remember, China has the upper hand in trade with Russia, and extracting value from that. Iran is blending its oil with Malaysia, and so China is paying a reduced rate for contraband oil there, too.
That's about a two hour supply of oil to the Chinese. Since it wasn't delivered they don't pay for it.
This is why when I buy oil shipments from Iran I pay on delivery.
The world's most heavily militarized bully can't help but interfere with other sovereign countries businesses.
It's like no one reads the stories anymore. There was no military involvement here. The company was notified through legal channels they they were in violation and willingly relinquished the ship/oil.
We are pirate and rob others
this is the kind of badassery i want to read about my Government getting up to.. fuck the CCP any way we can, boys..
And we wonder why they hate us.
How dare we take a stand against genocide.
The US commited genocide in Iraq and helped genocide in Chile, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Cambodia...
The US claiming to take a stand against genocide is laughable at best.
It is completely cynical though, because the US still buys plenty of products that are made in chinese labor camps. It is crazy how much kool-aid americans drink and how deep they managed to put their heads up their own ass.
We? You're posting on a nz server
So countries aren’t sovereign now?
Edit: I can’t find any info. What genocide?
no i don't.. why would i wonder that.. i want them to be sleepless at night because of me..
What an immature response.
When Russia and China attack and destro the US, no one should be surprised..... The US brought it on themselves
RuZZia is currently the second strongest army in Ukraine, so they got some catching up to do before that.
Sure bud
Russia and China attack and destro the US
Lmao Russia can't even beat Ukraine
“Acts of trespassing on tankers carrying Iranian oil are a clear example of piracy,” Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Nasser Kanaani said last month.
“Iran will not stand idly by in relation to any violation of the nation’s rights and will cut the hands of the aggressors.”
I will not be surprised