Economics
Iranian Charged in Sanctions Case as U.S. Steps Up Crackdown
- Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad moved $115 mln illegally, U.S. says
- Charges part of deal between Venezuela and Iraninan companies
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An Iranian businessman faces U.S. charges of evading economic sanctions on Iran by moving $115 million from Venezuela through the U.S., signifying that prosecutors are intensifying a crackdown on illicit attempts to transfer money through the American financial system.
Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad, who Reuters said is chairman of Malta-based Pilatus Bank, was arrested and charged on Monday. Sadr, whose family controls the Iranian conglomerate Stratus Group, illegally moved the money through the U.S. as part of a $476 million deal to build 7,000 housing units in Venezuela, U.S. prosecutors said.