An Iranian oil tycoon who’s managed to quietly embed himself within the coronary heart of the Western monetary system is amongst a cadre of businessmen dealing with weapons deliveries throughout the Caspian Sea to Russia, serving to Moscow in its struggle in Ukraine.
Hossein Shamkhani, via an online of corporations he oversees that embody Dubai-based Crios Delivery LLC, started shifting missiles, drone elements and dual-use items throughout the Caspian Sea on at the least two ships final yr, in line with greater than a dozen US, UK and European officers in addition to individuals with direct data of his dealings. They spoke on the situation of anonymity as a result of delicate nature of the data.
Moscow pays for the shipments with cargoes of petroleum, the individuals mentioned, the sort of barter commerce that has turn into more and more frequent due to US and European sanctions on each Russia and Iran.
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The transactions, which coincided with Russia utilizing extra Iranian weaponry in its assault on Ukraine, characterize one other aspect of a sprawling world enterprise community that has enriched Shamkhani, whose father was Iran’s longest-tenured protection minister and stays a prime adviser to Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Shamkhani’s net of corporations deal with greater than 1 / 4 of the entire quantity of Iranian arms deliveries to Russia, in line with individuals monitoring the transactions. His empire additionally spans a hedge fund, which has operated from places of work in London, Geneva and Singapore, in addition to a Dubai-based commodities buying and selling agency that’s handled Western oil majors.
Iran and Russia have acknowledged their strengthened protection cooperation, with out disclosing all the main points. Whereas the bilateral weapons commerce exposes contributors to potential sanctions from Western governments, it’s not unlawful.
“My understanding is the Shamkhani community ties into the drone contracts to be used in Ukraine,” former US Nationwide Safety Advisor John Bolton, who presently runs the Washington-based overseas coverage analysis group Basis for American Safety and Freedom, mentioned in an interview.
Representatives for the governments of Iran and Russia in addition to Crios didn’t reply to requests for remark. A lawyer representing Shamkhani, who has constantly contested Bloomberg’s reporting on his enterprise affairs, declined to touch upon the specifics of this story in an e-mailed response to questions.
A State Division spokesperson mentioned the US has been warning of the deepening safety partnership between Russia and Iran because the outset of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“This partnership threatens European safety and illustrates how Iran’s destabilizing affect reaches past the Center East and around the globe,” the spokesperson mentioned.
Caspian Voyages
Since mid-2023, a number of Crios vessels that beforehand plowed Mediterranean and Black Sea routes immediately shifted into the Caspian they usually’ve shuttled back-and-forth between Iran and Russia ever since, in line with ship monitoring knowledge compiled by Bloomberg.
The ships embody Sea Fortress (often known as Tooka) and Sea Anchor (often known as Roja), although they’re not the one ones, the individuals mentioned.
This yr, each vessels made at the least 5 voyages from Iranian ports to Russia’s Astrakhan, knowledge compiled by Bloomberg present.
By the requirements of worldwide transport, Sea Anchor and Sea Fortress are tiny however enough for transporting arms on quick journeys throughout the Caspian. They’ve 3,000 and 4,000 tons of transportation capability, roughly 1/one hundredth of what is likely to be hauled by large container ships shifting items the world over’s oceans.
The 108-meter (354 ft) Sea Anchor was in-built 1984 in Romania, one yr after Sea Fortress, which is a meter shorter, was constructed within the former Soviet Union.
A database maintained by S&P International doesn’t checklist the nation the place both vessel is registered. Data compiled by the maritime intelligence agency Pole Star International present they’ve each used flags from Palau, a Pacific island that, as a ship registry, is on an worldwide blacklist.
The weapons-for-oil commerce is the most recent element in a year-long Bloomberg Information investigation into Shamkhani’s enterprise actions, involving interviews with greater than 4 dozen individuals acquainted with his operations in addition to a overview of confidential paperwork and company data.
Most well-liked Passageway
It’s unclear how a lot weaponry has been delivered by ships managed by the Shamkhani community or their exact deployment. The arms haven’t been declared in cargo manifests to keep away from paper trails, the individuals mentioned.
Shamkhani’s monetary empire controls a fleet with dozens of vessels, together with oil tankers and cargo ships, in line with individuals with direct data of the matter.
Crios, the agency central to the Caspian shipments, was based in Dubai in October 2020, a federal registry of entities working within the United Arab Emirates reveals. On its web site, the corporate calls itself a world ship administration agency however didn’t disclose any particulars about its possession or management.
It’s amongst a batch of transport entities overseen by Shamkhani, together with Oceanlink Maritime DMCC and Koban Delivery LLC, the individuals mentioned. A few of the shippers sit subsequent to workers of his hedge fund and oil buying and selling corporations. Most employees merely consult with Shamkhani as “H” or “Hector,” the individuals mentioned.
Crios has a “tight relationship” with Oceanlink and Koban, which function on behalf of Iran’s Ministry of Protection Armed Forces Logistics, in line with David Tannenbaum, a former official at US Treasury’s Workplace of International Property Management who’s an professional in monitoring Caspian shipments and analyzing vessel possession within the so-called darkish fleet.
In April, the US sanctioned Oceanlink and recognized 13 vessels managed by the agency as blocked property, with out stating a hyperlink to Shamkhani.
Representatives for Oceanlink and Koban didn’t reply to requests for remark.
A lot of the current actions concentrating on his community have targeted on oil shipments. Efforts to clamp down on the cross-Caspian offers face added challenges.
“Sanctions enforcement in opposition to these barter networks is rather a lot more durable, significantly when you think about Russia’s historic dominance within the area,” mentioned Behnam Ben Taleblu, an professional on Iranian safety on the Basis for Protection of Democracies. “The short-term objective must be exposing these networks to the limelight.”
