PRESS
RELEASES
Treasury
Designates Mahan Air Service Provider
Washington - Today the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of
Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Mahan Travel and Tourism Sdn Bhd, a
Malaysia-based General Sales Agent (GSA), for acting for or on behalf of Mahan
Air, an Iranian airline previously designated in connection
with Iran’s support for international terrorism. GSAs such as Mahan
Travel and Tourism Sdn Bhd are key to enabling Mahan Air’s international
operations, especially in regards to conducting financial transactions on behalf
of the airline. This entity has been designated pursuant to Executive Order
(E.O.) 13224, a counter-terrorism authority. As a result of today’s action, all
property and interests in property of Mahan Travel and Tourism Sdn Bhd that are
or come within U.S.jurisdiction are blocked.
“Mahan Air is the airline of choice for
the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, facilitating its
support to terrorism across the Middle East. Mahan’s regular flights
to Syria are used to prop up the Assad regime and deliver weapons,
foreign fighters, and Iranian operatives who sow violence and unrest
across the region,” said Secretary of the Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin.
“The United States government has been very clear about the deadly
role played by Mahan Air. Our action against an independent company
providing General Sales Agent services to Mahan makes clear to all in the
aviation industry that they urgently need to sever all ties and distance
themselves immediately from this airline. Companies that continue to
service Mahan aircraft, or facilitate Mahan flights in and out of airports in
Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, are on notice that they do so at great
financial risk.”
Mahan Air was designated in October 2011
pursuant to E.O. 13224 for providing financial, material, or technological
support for the Islamic Revolutionary GuardCorps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF). The
IRGC-QF was previously designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 on October 25, 2007
for its support to numerous terrorism-linked organizations. Mahan Air has
ferried IRGC-QF operatives, weapons, equipment, and funds abroad in support of
the IRGC-QF’s destabilizing regional operations. Mahan Air has transported
IRGC-QF personnel between Iran and Syria for military
training and has facilitated the covert travel of IRGC-QF members by bypassing
normal security protocols and flight manifests. The airline has also
transported weapons and personnel for Hizballah and regional armed groups whose
actions promote conflict and regional instability. Since the onset of
the Syrian civil war, Mahan Air and other
designated Iranian commercial airlines have routinely flown fighters
and materiel to Syria to prop up the Assad
regime. Iran’s military support for Assad has contributed to mass
atrocities in the country and the displacement of millions.
Treasury is designating Malaysia-based
Mahan Travel and Tourism Sdn Bhd today for acting for or on behalf of Mahan
Air. Mahan Travel and Tourism Sdn Bhd, which has served Mahan Air for at least
eight years, is Mahan Air’s sole GSA in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and provides
reservation and ticketing services for Mahan Air.
A GSA is an agent that provides services
on behalf of an airline under the airline’s brand. There are several types of
services and support that GSAs typically offer on behalf of airlines, such as:
sales and marketing, freight reception and handling, airport warehouse and ramp
supervision, administrative services, and financial services.
This action serves notice to the aviation
community of the sanctions risk for individuals and entities maintaining
commercial relationships with Mahan Air and other
designated Iranian airlines. Persons operating in the civil aviation
industry should implement appropriate controls to ensure compliance with legal
requirements and sanctions. In addition to GSA services such as reservation and
ticketing services, potentially sanctionable activities—when conducted for or
on behalf of a designated person—include procurement of aircraft parts and
equipment, maintenance contracts, provision of airline ground services,
catering, interline transfer and codeshare agreements, refueling contracts,
cargo cooperation agreements, cargo sales agent services and agreements, and
freight forwarding services.
Today’s action demonstrates
the U.S. Government’s continued commitment to enforcing existing
sanctions and to targeting those that provide support to terrorism.
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