The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday sanctioned an India-based network run by Suniel Kumar Sharma and his wife, Jaspreet Preeti Shahid, accusing it of supplying false ship flags and certifications to vessels in Iran’s “shadow fleet,” and separately designated Türkiye-based Fugo Ground Services Inc for servicing U.S.-sanctioned Iranian airlines, the department said in a release.
According to Treasury, Sharma and Shahid operated from Chandigarh, India, defrauding maritime regulatory administrations in multiple jurisdictions to set up false flagging authorities and maritime classification societies. The designations are allegations by the U.S. government; the couple has not been convicted of any crime.
“As we have said many times, under Operation Economic Outcast, you are either with us or against us,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. “We know where you are, and we will sanction those who continue supporting the Iranian regime, whether by land, sea, or air.”
Treasury said falsely flagged vessels evade international rules on crew safety and environmental harm and carry no valid protection and indemnity insurance, which it said could expose coastal states to billions of dollars in damages.
The release says the network bought web domains and built sites claiming to offer flagging, seafarer training and vessel classification on behalf of countries that never authorized it, naming purported registries for Aruba, Guyana, Mali, Mozambique, Malawi, Sint Maarten, Timor-Leste and others. Treasury said Sharma established the Singapore-based Eswatini Maritime Affairs and International Ship Registry PTE. Ltd., which continues to flag vessels carrying Iranian petroleum despite being publicly disavowed by Eswatini, and that he used India-based Oceaniek Technologies India to set up additional registries. Sanctioned vessels it linked to the network include PING SHUN, LATTAFA, BINARY STAR and VERA.
The allegations are not new in kind: in April, U.S. forces seized the falsely Guyana-flagged MAJESTIC X, formerly the PHONIX, while it carried Iranian oil — a case Treasury cited as background to Wednesday’s action.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also designated Fugo Ground Services Inc under Executive Order 13902 for operating in Iran’s aviation sector. According to the release, the Türkiye-based company provides ground handling and other services to several U.S.-designated Iranian carriers, including Iran Air Tour, Saha Airlines, Sepehran Airlines, Varesh Airlines, Taban Airlines and Ata Airlines, and began servicing several of them in the weeks after their September 8 designations.
Alongside the designations, OFAC issued a new alert to industry warning of the sanctions risks of dealing with potentially falsely flagged vessels.
A crude oil tanker. Photo: Bernard Spragg (CC0)
For shipping and aviation businesses, the practical effect is immediate: insurers, port agents, charterers and ground-service companies now have specific vessels, registries and counterparties to screen against. OFAC said all property of the designated persons in U.S. jurisdiction is blocked, U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them, and foreign firms that keep enabling sanctioned Iranian operators risk being cut off from the U.S. financial system.
JBizNews Desk | Washington
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