Chennai firm to pay Rs17,500 for violating US trade norms on Iran

A Chennai-based company has agreed to pay a penalty of $17,500 in a settlement with the US treasury department to settle its potential civil liability for apparent violation of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations.

The apparent violation by Aban Offshore Ltd of Chennai occurred on 27 June 2008 when the company's Singapore subsidiary placed an order for oil rig supplies from a vendor in the United States with the intended purpose of re-exporting these supplies from the United Arab Emirates to a jack-up oil drilling rig located in the South Pars Gas Fields in Iranian territorial waters.

In a statement, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at the Department of Treasury said that it determined that Aban did not voluntarily self-disclose the apparent violation to it, and that the apparent violation constituted a non-egregious case.

The OFAC mainly restricts and regulates transactions with embargoed nations, including some specific academic partnerships and exchange of research equipment and materials, with most comprehensive restrictions apply to Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Sudan and Syria. As the regulations are country specific, the regulations with regards to transactions with Iran, mainly comes under the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations.