US Imposes Sanctions on Mojtaba Khamenei's 'Key Financier'

The United States government has imposed economic sanctions on an Iranian financier based in Dubai, accused of embezzling billions of dollars in public funds to enrich the ‘regime elite’ in Tehran. The Iranian national, Ali Ansari, was named in a US Treasury Department statement as a ‘key financier’ for the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei. According to the US Treasury Department, ‘Ansari has effectively institutionalised large-scale embezzlement within the Iranian regime, diverting publicly funded wealth into an extensive portfolio of overseas property and commercial holdings.’ The scheme aimed ‘to enrich himself, the regime elite,’ including those in the office of the supreme leader and the influential Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Treasury Department, which administers US economic sanctions, stated that Ansari embezzled the money of the Iranian people and invested it in real estate and commercial properties in Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries. It noted that the global network of shell companies operated under a holding company established in 2011 in the Caribbean nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. ‘Although in Ansari’s name, many of these financial interests are ultimately held for the financial benefit of Mojtaba Khamenei, his family, and other Iranian elites within the regime,’ the Treasury Department said. Punitive action by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), such as that taken against Ansari, typically results in the freezing of any assets held in the United States. The action also prohibits American companies and citizens from doing business with the sanctioned individual, or risk being sanctioned themselves. Mojtaba Khamenei became Iran’s supreme leader after his father, Ali Khamenei, was killed in a US and Israeli air strike on 28 February. OFAC also took action against three Iran-based currency exchange firms, accused of moving billions of dollars a year for sanctioned Iranian banks through layers of shell companies. The three firms are Mohammad Darbani and Partners, Lavasani and Partners, and Mohsen Khandan and Partners. ‘By targeting these networks, the United States is directly disrupting the regime’s ability to access foreign currency and conduct international financial activities,’ US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a separate statement. Tensions between Tehran and Washington have escalated sharply again with the resumption of mutual attacks between the US and Iran this week. US President Donald Trump even asserted that the ceasefire between the two arch-foes has ended.