The move comes as the Trump administration continues its ‘campaign of maximum economic pressure’ on Tehran.
The Treasury Department unveiled new sanctions on April 16 against a China-based refinery accused of purchasing more than $1 billion worth of Iranian oil—the latest move by the Trump administration as part of its “campaign of maximum economic pressure” on Tehran.
The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned independent “teapot” refinery Shandong Shengxing Chemical Co. Ltd., based in Shandong Province, China.
Officials said the company has received dozens of shipments of Iranian crude oil from “shadow fleet” vessels, some of which have been sanctioned for their role in transporting Iranian petroleum.
Some of the petroleum came from a front company for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), the department said.
“Any refinery, company, or broker that chooses to purchase Iranian oil or facilitate Iran’s oil trade places itself at serious risk,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “The United States is committed to disrupting all actors providing support to Iran’s oil supply chain, which the regime uses to support its terrorist proxies and partners.”
According to the department, between March 2020 and January 2023, Shandong Shengxing sent more than $800 million in wire transfers to China Oil and Petroleum Company Ltd. (COPC).
COPC was an IRGC-QF front company that helped sell Iranian oil to China, the department said. COPC laundered billions through the U.S. financial system in support of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard, according to the department.
Approximately $108 million of the laundered money was seized by the Justice Department in February 2024.
The department also issued additional sanctions on several companies and vessels it said were responsible for helping transport Iranian oil shipments to China through its “shadow fleet.”
They included Panama-based Oceanic Orbit Inc. and Starboard Shipping Inc., Malaysia-based Pro Mission SDN BHD, Marshall Islands-based Bestla Co. Ltd., and Hong Kong-based Dexiang Shipping Co. Ltd.
As a result of the sanctions, any property and interests in property owned by the companies and vessels in the United States will be blocked and must be reported to the OFAC.
Additionally, any entities that are owned, either directly or indirectly, by the companies or vessels will also be blocked, and all transactions within the United States have been banned.
