NEW DELHI: The US has slapped sanctions against an Indian company, Tibalaji Petrochem Private Limted, along with others from the UAE and Hong Kong for selling Iranian petrochemicals to end users in South and East Asia.
“The entities that have played a critical role in concealing the origin of the Iranian shipments and enabling two sanctioned Iranian brokers, Triliance Petrochemical Co. Ltd. (Triliance) and Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry Commercial Co. (PGPICC), to transfer funds and ship Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals to buyers in Asia,’’ said the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
As for Tibalaji, the OFAC alleged that it purchased millions of dollars worth of Triliance-brokered petrochemical products, including methanol and base oil, for onward shipment to China. Officials in India reserved comment on the sanctions.
The US also imposed sanctions on two entities in China, Zhonggu Storage and Transportation Co Ltd and WS Shipping Co Ltd, for their involvement in Iran’s petrochemical trade. “This action targets Iranian brokers and several front companies in the UAE, Hong Kong, and India,’’ the OFAC said.
No import since 2019
India stopped crude oil imports from Iran in mid-2019 during the Trump regime after the US decided against renewing sanction waiver to various countries, including India