US sanctions Indian couple over ‘maritime fraud’ supporting Iran’s shadow fleet

The shadow fleet refers to vessels involved in Russian, Iranian, and Venezuelan crude oil and petroleum products trade. (Source: File)

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.