The U.S. Treasury Department announced Wednesday it has imposed sanctions on the law firm Karnakis & Karnakis, which operates in Greece and Panama, alleging the firm provided years of legal assistance to Iranian shipping networks and helped conceal the identities of ship owners who transported oil and other products from Iran, according to Reuters.
1+According to the U.S. government’s statement, the law firm created shell companies over the years designed to hide the true owners of ships that transported oil, petrochemical products, and Iranian steel. The companies served, according to American officials, as cover for networks that sold millions of barrels of Iranian oil and transferred revenues that aided the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force and the Houthis in Yemen.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivered a sharp message to those assisting the Tehran regime, making clear that the United States will act against anyone involved in economic support for Iran—whether through illegal oil transfers at sea or law firms aiding such operations.
1+Meanwhile, the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an administrative order as part of an investigation into a Greek bank, suspected of possible ties to Iran. In addition, requests for information were sent to six other European banks regarding their connections with Iranian financial institutions subject to U.S. sanctions. The names of the banks were not disclosed.
The new sanctions come against the backdrop of continued American pressure on Iran. After Washington refrained this month from further strikes in the war that began on February 28, the United States has continued its blockade of Iranian ports and imposed sanctions on shipping networks and entities it claims are assisting them.