OFAC just dropped another hammer on one of Iran’s most prolific sanctions evaders. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned more than two dozen individuals, companies, and vessels linked to Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani on April 15, 2026, expanding a campaign that has become the most aggressive Iran-related enforcement push since 2018.

Shamkhani runs a sophisticated web of front companies and vessels designed to move Iranian and Russian crude oil to buyers, primarily in China, generating proceeds estimated in the tens of billions of dollars.

The scale of the operation

This latest round builds on a July 30, 2025, action that targeted over 50 individuals, entities, and vessels. That earlier package was the largest Iran-related sanctions designation since 2018.

Shamkhani, born April 19, 1984, holds dual Iranian and Dominica nationality and operates from the UAE. His network isn’t just about moving oil. The April 2026 sanctions also targeted an oil-for-gold scheme that funneled revenue to Hizballah and the IRGC-Qods Force, Iran’s elite military unit responsible for extraterritorial operations.

Shamkhani’s network employs layers of front companies primarily registered in the UAE and Marshall Islands. These entities often change vessel operators and utilize fraudulent documents to disguise their links to Iran, selling oil chiefly to Chinese markets. His connections stem from his late father, Ali Shamkhani, a former commander of the IRGC Navy.

Since mid-2025, a series of coordinated sanctions from the U.S., EU, and UK have aimed to dismantle this operational framework, reflecting concerns over the profit streams that bolster the Iranian state and its military ambitions.