The US Thursday sanctioned petrochemical and petroleum companies based in Hong Kong, Dubai and Shanghai for their roles in facilitating hundreds of millions of dollars in crude oil, petrochemical and refined product exports from the National Iranian Oil Company.
The sanctions were imposed on Triliance Petrochemical Co., a Hong Kong-based broker which ordered the transfer of millions of dollars in payments to NIOC for Iranian petrochemical, crude and petroleum products shipped to the UAE and China in 2019.
“In facilitating these shipments, Triliance worked to conceal the Iranian origin of these products,” Treasury said. “Triliance has also facilitated the sale of millions of dollars’ worth of petroleum products involving Naftiran Intertrade Company, a subsidiary of NIOC, to companies in China.”
Treasury also sanctioned Hong Kong-based Sage Energy, Shanghai-based Peakview, and Dubai-based Beneathco DMCC for ordering the equivalent of millions of dollars to NIOC for exports from Iran after US sanctions waivers expired in May.
In a related move, the US State Department announced Thursday that it was sanctioning Triliance, Chinese company Shandong Qiwangda Petrochemical Co., and Hong Kong entity Jiaxiang Industry Hong Kong Limited for a “significant transaction” of petrochemical products from Iran. State also announced sanctions on Ali Bayandarian, Triliance’s managing director, and Zhiqing Wang, Shandong Qiwangda’s chairman and legal representative.