Treasury Sanctions Networks Enabling Illicit Trade that Benefits IRGC-QF and Hizballah

WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned more than a dozen entities and vessels for their involvement in the shipment of Iranian crude oil and liquid petroleum gas to Syria and East Asia on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and Hizballah. Among the vessels sanctioned today are four ships associated with the fleet of illicit shipping Syrian magnate Abdul Jalil Mallah (Abdul Jalil) and his brother Luay al-Mallah. Since Abdul Jalil’s June 10, 2021 designation for his support to the network of IRGC-QF-backed Houthi financial official Sa’id al-Jamal, Luay al-Mallah has continued to use their shipping empire to support Iran’s malign activities and those of its proxies.