Indian nationals among over 50 entities sanctioned by US for aiding Iran’s energy trade
Washington (PTI): The US has sanctioned more than 50 entities, people and vessels including two Indian nationals for allegedly facilitating Iranian energy sales, in an attempt to dismantle "key elements" of Tehran's "energy export machine", according to an official statement.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the sanctions on Thursday.
"These actors have collectively enabled the export of billions of dollars’ worth of petroleum and petroleum products, providing critical revenue to the Iranian regime and its support for terrorist groups that threaten the United States," the department said in a press release.
The sanctions are part of the department's efforts to curb Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical exports.
“The Treasury Department is degrading Iran’s cash flow by dismantling key elements of Iran’s energy export machine,” it said, quoting Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.
The Indian nationals sanctioned include Varun Pula, who owns Marshall Islands-based Bertha Shipping Inc., which owns and operates Comoros-flagged vessel PAMIR.
The vessel has transported nearly four million barrels of Iranian LPG to China since July 2024, according to the US statement.
The other Indian national sanctioned is Soniya Shrestha, who owns Vega Star Ship Management Private Limited. The company owns and operates another Comoros-flagged vessel, NEPTA, which has transported Iranian-origin LPG to Pakistan since January 2025.
The statement added that all "property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons" that are in the US or in the possession or control of US persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.
Any entities owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 per cent or more by one or more blocked persons also stand blocked.
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3 officials of private banks arrested in Gujarat in Rs 2,500 crore cyber fraud; 20 held so far
Rajkot (PTI): Three officials of leading private banks were arrested for their alleged involvement in a Rs 2,500-crore cyber fraud racket in Gujarat's Rajkot district, bringing the number of those held so far in the case to 20, police said on Monday.
Those arrested were identified as Maulik Kamani, a personal manager at Yes Bank in Padadhari; Kalpesh Dangariya, a manager at Axis Bank in Jamnagar; and Anurag Baldha, a personal banker with HDFC Bank, Rajkot (Rural) Superintendent of Police Vijay Gurjar said.
Dangariya and Baldha were previously employed with Yes Bank, he added.
Kamani allegedly assisted the earlier arrested accused in opening and managing suspicious accounts. He also helped bypass banking alerts triggered by high-value transactions by submitting additional documentation to keep accounts active, the SP said.
Kamani was allegedly involved in cash withdrawals that were later routed through hawala channels (illegal money transfer system), supported by digital evidence recovered from his mobile device, he added.
Dangariya is accused of facilitating the opening of fraudulent accounts using fake or misrepresented identities, police said.
He also assisted in structuring documentation, including Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC)-related papers, to prevent transactions from being flagged as suspicious, they said.
On the other hand, Baldha opened new accounts after verification and certification processes as part of the racket, Gurjar informed.
All the three accused are in police custody, while others are in jail under judicial remand, SP said.
So far, police have identified 85 bank accounts linked to the racket with 535 complaints filed on the cyber crime portal.
The total transaction linked to the cyber fraud exceeds Rs 2,500 crore, police said.
The earlier fraud amount was pegged by police at Rs 1,500 crore.
