Iran Sanctions - Foreign Press Centers

March 29, 2011, Sanctions Determination Against Belarusneft
Iran Sanctions
As shown in Table 4, several additional foreign investment agreements have been agreed with
Iran not covered in the September 2010 determination. Some of these firms remained under
Administration scrutiny, and the Administration stated that determinations will be made within
180 days (by April 1, 2011).
• On March 29, 2011, with that deadline approaching, the State Department
announced that one additional firm would be sanctioned under ISA—Belarusneft,
a subsidiary of the Belarus government owned Belneftekhim—for a $500 million
contract with Naftiran (the company sanctioned in September 2010) to develop
the Jofeir oil field discussed in Table 4. The three sanctions imposed were: denial
of Ex-Im Bank financing, denial of U.S. export licenses, and denial of U.S. loans
above $10 million. Other subsidiaries of Belneftekhim were sanctioned in 2007
under Executive Order 13405 related to U.S. policy on Belarus.
The Administration announcement did not indicate that some of the other investments in Table 4
or other investments, for which no ISA determinations have been made to date, are still under
investigation.
May 24, 2011, Sanctions Imposed on Gasoline-Related Shippers
On May 24, 2011, the Administration issued its first sanctions determinations under the CISADAamended
“trigger” that requires sanctions against sales of gasoline and related equipment and
services. The reasons for the sanctions, including size of gasoline shipments to Iran, as well as the
ISA-related sanctions selected, can be found at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2011/05/
164132.htm. The seven firms sanctioned were
• Petrochemical Commercial Company International (PCCI) of Bailiwick of
Jersey and Iran
• Royal Oyster Group (UAE)
• Tanker Pacific (Singapore)
• Allvale Maritime (subsidiary of Ofer Brothers Group, Israel)
• Societie Anonyme Monegasque Et Aerienne (SAMAMA, Monaco)
• Speedy Ship (UAE/Iran)
• Associated Shipbroking (Monaco)
• Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) of Venezuela
The determinations of sanctionability of Allvale and SAMAMA were issued on September 13,
2011, as a “clarification” of the May 24 determinations, which named Ofer Brothers Group (and
not Allvale or SAMAMA) as sanctioned entities at that time. Those two entities, as well as
Tanker Pacific are, according to an author conversation with an attorney for the Ofer Brothers
Group, affiliated with a Europe-based trust linked to deceased Ofer brother Sami Ofer, and not
Ofer Brothers Group based in Israel. Ofer Brothers Group, based in Israel, is not therefore under
sanction. The firms named were subjected primarily to the financial-related sanctions provided in
ISA. With respect to PDVSA, the Administration made clear in its announcement that U.S.-based
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