A Greek shipping company has pleaded guilty to smuggling sanctioned Iranian crude oil and agreed to pay a $2.4 million fine, newly unsealed U.S. court documents seen on September 7 by the Associated Press show. The now-public case against Empire Navigation, which faces three years of probation under the plea agreement, marks the first public acknowledgement by U.S. prosecutors that America seized some 1 million barrels of oil from the tanker Suez Rajan. The saga surrounding the ship further escalated tensions between Washington and Iran, even as they work toward a trade of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets in South Korea for the release of five Iranian Americans held in Tehran. To read the original story from AP, click here.
Greek Shipper Pleads Guilty To Smuggling Iranian Crude Oil, Will Pay $2.4 Million Fine
In this satellite photo provided by Planet Labs, vessels identified as the Virgo, left, and the Suez Rajan are seen in the South China Sea on February 13, 2022.