WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. Treasury Department said Tuesday it has identified two large subsidiaries operating as off-the-book fronts for the Iranian regime.
The "major" network has served to prop up the Iranian regime despite international sanctions and has generated billions annually in revenue previously unknown to international regulators or the Iranian people, a department release states.
The companies, working for the Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order, controlled two main subsidiaries that in turn operated 37 businesses that at first glance appeared to be private enterprises.
American businesses are forbidden from doing business with Iranian companies due to unilateral and international economic sanctions against the Islamic republic. Any assets the subsidiaries had in U.S. banks have been frozen, a Treasury Department official said.
"Even as economic conditions in Iran deteriorate, senior Iranian leaders profit from a shadowy network of off-the-books front companies," said Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen. "While the Iranian government's leadership works to hide billions of dollars in corporate profits earned at the expense of the Iranian people, Treasury will continue exposing and acting against the regime's attempts to evade our sanctions and escape international isolation."
