US Imposes Sanctions on Indian Couple Over Alleged Web Maritime Fraud Facilitating Iranian Petroleum Transportation

The US has imposed sanctions on Indian couple Suniel Kumar Sharma and his wife Jaspret Preeti Shahid over alleged web maritime fraud. In a statement, the Treasury department said, “Their schemes have provided false flags and certifications to sanctioned vessels involved in transporting Iranian petroleum, including vessels operating on behalf of the Iranian military and its proxies.” “As we have said many times, under Operation Economic Outcast, you are either with us or against us,” US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement. “We know where you are, and we will sanction those who continue supporting the Iranian regime, whether by land, sea, or air.” As per the allegations, Sharma and his wife Shahid defrauded maritime regulatory administrations in multiple jurisdictions in order to establish false flagging authorities and maritime classification societies from Chandigarh . Apart from that, they purportedly represented nations from every continent, from Guyana to Eswatini and Laos permitting Iranian shadow fleet, including those operating on behalf of the Iranian military and its proxies, to evade international restrictions on their operation. The couple allegedly started operations in 2014 when they sought to impersonate the flagging authority of the Dominica. Later in 2023, Sharma set up Singapore-based Eswatini Maritime Affairs and International Ship Registry PTE. Ltd. (Eswatini Maritime), which provided flagging services for vessels ferrying Iranian petroleum, even though the activities were already rejected by Eswatini authorities. The couple is also alleged of creating bogus websites that claim to offer a variety of services on behalf of a country that has not authorised it. The services include flagging, seafarer training and certification, and vessel classification, which are usually carried out by legitimate services complying to international standards.