The US has imposed sanctions on 18 companies and individuals from different countries due to their links with Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Two Indians are also among those banned.
The US government has attacked the Houthis’ illegal oil business and other sources of funding from Iran. The companies sanctioned include Marshall Islands-registered Changtai Shipping and Navigations Ltd and UAE-based Indo Gulf Ship Management. The two Indians who have come under the ambit of sanctions are associated with Indo Gulf Ship Management Company.
Dipankar Mohan Keot does business from Hong Kong
According to the US government notification, Indian citizen Rahul Ratanlal Wariku is the managing director of the company. He is also associated with the American company-Safe Seas Ship Management and some other companies. Another Indian, Dipankar Mohan Keot, does business from Hong Kong. He is a Technical Manager at Indo Gulf Ship Management Company.
Therefore he has also come under the purview of American sanctions. Sanctioned people are barred from traveling to the US as well as being barred from working in the US economy. It is noteworthy that the Houthis have continuously attacked ships passing through the Red Sea in support of Hamas.
Said this in the release
Under the sanctions, all of their assets and interests in assets owned directly or indirectly with more than a 50 percent stake will be blocked and reported to OFAC, the release said. Ship captains Ali Barkhordar and Wahid Ullah Durrani are also being sanctioned for providing financial, material or technical support to the al-Jamal network.
The US said the revenue from al-Jamal’s network enables Houthi attacks in the region, including missile and unmanned aerial vehicle attacks on Israel and commercial ships passing through the Red Sea.
Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence said the Houthis depend on Saeed al-Jamal’s international network and associated facilitators for the transportation and sale of Iranian oil, and continue their campaign of violence.
America had imposed ban on another company
Last week, the US sanctioned Mumbai-based Gabbaro Ship Services Pvt Ltd, which was accused of knowingly engaging in a significant transaction for the transportation of petroleum from Iran by acting as the technical manager of the crude oil tanker Hornet.