By Jamie Crawford
The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday detailed what it called an "intricate Iranian scheme" helped by a Greek shipping magnate in an effort to avoid oil export sanctions.
Dimitris Cambis established a network of front companies to purchase multiple oil tankers in an elaborate scheme to disguise the origin of Iranian oil, the Treasury Department said.
"Today we are lifting the veil on an intricate Iranian scheme that was designed to evade international oil sanctions," David S. Cohen, Treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a written statement. "We will continue to expose deceptive Iranian practices, and to sanction those individuals and entities who participate in these schemes."
In addition, the U.S. State Department imposed a visa ban on Cambis, as well as the corporate officers of two insurance companies that provide services to the National Iranian Tanker Company, or NITC.
The United States and the European Union are leading dual sanctions drives that target the purchase of Iranian crude in order to pressure the Iranian government to negotiate with the international community over its disputed nuclear program.
Under the guise of acting on his own company's behalf, Cambis purchased eight oil tankers while disguising their purchase for the NITC, Treasury officials said. Separate front companies were used to conduct a series of ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian petroleum with the goal of obscuring the oil's origin before it moved into international markets.
The tankers had the capacity to carry as much as $200 million worth of oil per shipment, the Treasury Department said.
Cambis has taken his case to the international media in recent weeks to deny any involvement in surreptitious Iranian oil transactions.
"There is no Iranian vessel that has done any [ship-to-ship transfer] with us," Cambis told Reuters last month in Athens. "We have nothing to do with NITC."
In a conference call with reporters to explain the actions taken, a senior administration official said the information used to make the designation of Cambis was comprehensive.
"This is not a case at the margin," the official said. "The information was solid and overwhelming, so we are confident in this designation."
The official also noted there was no evidence to suggest that any possible recipient of the oil was involved in trying to contravene sanctions in place on Iranian oil.
Under the sanctions, U.S. citizens are prohibited from engaging in any transactions with Cambis, or the other entities sanctioned, while blocking any assets held by those entities under U.S. jurisdiction.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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This smells like another bald faced lie from the right-wing thugs in Washington in order to cook up more of that right-wing lynch mob mentality among the American people! Today, only a stupid, crazy fool would put any credence in anything that comes out of Washington D.C.!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/06/el-salvador-iraq-police-squads-washington
In 2004, with the war in Iraq going from bad to worse, the US drafted in a veteran of Central America's dirty wars to help set up a new force to fight the insurgency. The result: secret detention centres, torture and a spiral into sectarian carnage.
America is the root of all terror. America has invaded sixty countries since world war 2.
In 1953 America overthrow Iran's democratic government Mohammad Mosaddegh and installed a brutal dictator Shah. America helped Shah of Iran to establish secret police and killed thousands of Iranian people.
During Iran-Iraq war evil America supported Suddam Hossain and killed millions of Iranian people. In 1989, America, is the only country ever, shot down Iran's civilian air plane, killing 290 people.
In 2003,America invaded Iraq and killed 1,000,000+ innocent Iraqi people and 4,000,000+ Iraqi people were displaced.
Now America is a failed state with huge debt. Its debt will be 22 trillion by 2015. ha ha ha
Thank you, John. You got that right!
I wouldn't listen to John Smith. He's is simply cutting and pasting the same exact thing into every article. No discussion, just the same thing over and over again.
youre a traitor in my eyes Bonehead
You hide behind your false name and write a childish message and it appears that you are a hater and a sick, sick person. I hope you don't live in the US as that would make you a hypocrate too. Everything you wrote is something a mentally disturbed or fanatical idiot would also. This is not a perfect Union of persons called the USA but it is the most perfect that mankind has been able to muster up in his history so far. We are an experiment in how humans can be all that they can be as an evolved species for all of our shortcomings. You, dear John, are not one of these....ha, ha, ha...
Hey john how mad are you that America owns you mwaahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Reblogged this on From the Bridge Blog.
"David S. Cohen, Treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence"
Why don't you "lift the veil" on this scheme, Mr. Cohen?
http://pulverizedtonearpower.wordpress.com/2012/07/12/pulverized-to-near-power/
well said scott ca
As notorious as the people of Pakistan and Iran, and they shall never know peace.
America is the root of all terror. America has invaded sixty countries since world war 2.
In 1953 America overthrow Iran's democratic government Mohammad Mosaddegh and installed a brutal dictator Shah. America helped Shah of Iran to establish secret police and killed thousands of Iranian people.
During Iran-Iraq war evil America supported Suddam Hossain and killed millions of Iranian people. In 1989, America, is the only country ever, shot down Iran's civilian air plane, killing 290 people.
In 2003,America invaded Iraq and killed 1,000,000+ innocent Iraqi people and 4,000,000+ Iraqi people were displaced.
Now America is a failed state with huge debt. Its debt will be 22 trillion by 2015.
UN allied military actions do not count as American Invasions. Your Biased cherry picking of data to suit your bigoted anit-west, brutal regime Apologist agenda, is neither intelligent nor wise.
Neither will you dirty white trash
America is the root of all terror. America has invaded sixty countries since world war 2.
In 1953 America overthrow Iran's democratic government Mohammad Mosaddegh and installed a brutal dictator Shah. America helped Shah of Iran to establish secret police and killed thousands of Iranian people.
During Iran-Iraq war evil America supported Suddam Hossain and killed millions of Iranian people. In 1989, America, is the only country ever, shot down Iran's civilian air plane, killing 290 people.
In 2003,America invaded Iraq and killed 1,000,000+ innocent Iraqi people and 4,000,000+ Iraqi people were displaced.
Now America is a failed state with huge debt. Its debt will be 22 trillion by 2015.
Pakistan is the root of all terror. End of Story.
Most of what John Smith said was a load of crap but its his opinion (not facts) and since no one cares what he thinks we can all just continue living life.
He is a muslim from Pakistan and that's how all muslims, especially from third world, feel about America. That's why NYPD was conducting surveillance in mosques and businesses to find people like John Smith aka Muhammed.
Why does this sound like Matthew Reilly's novel, "Scarecrow".....?