U.S. Court Sentences Iranian-American to 41 Months in Prison for 'Circumventing Sanctions'

Behrouz Mokhtari, an Iranian-American citizen previously charged by the U.S. justice system with conspiracy to 'violate the sanctions of the Islamic Republic,' has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release. According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice, 72-year-old Behrouz Mokhtari from McLean, Virginia, engaged in prohibited business activities with Iranian entities without obtaining the necessary licenses from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and circumventing sanctions. The indictment stated that Mokhtari admitted to trading illegal shipments of petrochemical products from the Islamic Republic through his main company in Panama. The U.S. Department of Justice's statement indicated that Mokhtari and his accomplices used the FSR network to provide services to Iranian entities, knowing that such actions were illegal as an American citizen. Simultaneously, the FBI and U.S. Assistant Attorney have been investigating and prosecuting the case of Mokhtari and his accomplices in Panama. Recently, the U.S. Treasury Department released a statement on March 9 listing 39 companies linked to Iran, accused of forming a 'shadow banking network' that helps the Islamic Republic access global financial markets by circumventing U.S. sanctions. Earlier, Voice of America reported that one of these companies, 'Mehr Petrochemical Company,' is based in Iran and has conducted transactions in the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, several other companies are located in Hong Kong and have financial ties to the Islamic Republic, which are now sanctioned. Other companies are based in the UAE, Pakistan, Turkey, the Marshall Islands, and China.