Steel distributor settles alleged Iran sanction violations
(Minews) - Great Plain Stainless Co., a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based steel distributor, agreed to pay a $214,000 penalty to settle accusations that it violated U.S. sanctions by allowing a Chinese vendor to ship its products on a blacklisted Iranian vessel, authorities said.
The penalty is a reminder that despite the recent deal with Iran over its nuclear program, it will be a long time before echoes of the decades of sanctions against the country fade. The company tried to cover up the 2009 shipments by requesting altered shipping records with the name of the vessel–”Sahand”–removed, the U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a statement. The company disregarded “verbal and written guidance from OFAC stating that GPS should consult with OFAC’s Licensing Division before engaging in additional transactions,” the office said. OFAC said it factored into the penalty the small size of the company and remedial measures it took to prevent a “recurrence of the alleged violations.”
A company manager declined to comment. The company hasn’t admitted to wrongdoing.
Publish date : Tuesday 28 July 2015 16:54
Story Code: 26405
