"The 2022 Treasury statement listed it alongside eight other vessels that it said were part of "a vast, complex, and interwoven global network of front companies that are used to facilitate oil shipments" for a smuggling network. The operation involved "blending oil to conceal the Iranian origins of the shipments and exporting it around the world in support of Hezbollah and the IRGC-QF," through a network of shell companies in the Marshall Islands, Mauritius, and Singapore, it added."
"US President Donald Trump announced the seizure of the tanker while speaking to reporters at the White House on December 10. Video released by US Attorney General Pam Bondi showed helicopters descending on the vessel and special forces taking control of it. "For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations," she wrote on social media. "Our investigation alongside the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the transport of sanctioned oil continues.""
"Bondi said the ship was also used to transport sanctioned Venezuelan oil. The seizure comes amid a major US naval build up in the region and a controversial campaign of deadly attacks on alleged Venezuelan drug smuggling ships. Venezuela condemned the seizure as an "act of piracy" and "grave international crime." The vessel, The Skipper, was named the Adisa when it was sanctioned."
US forces seized an oil tanker in the Caribbean that had been under US Treasury sanctions since 2022 for alleged participation in illegal Iranian oil smuggling. The Treasury identified Viktor Artemov, a Ukrainian national with links to Hezbollah and Iran's IRGC-QF, as a leader of the network. US officials released video of helicopters and special forces taking control and said the vessel had supported an illicit shipping network that blended oil to conceal Iranian origins. Officials said the tanker also transported sanctioned Venezuelan oil. Venezuela condemned the seizure as an act of piracy. The Treasury linked the vessel to a complex network of shell companies.
Read at RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
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