WASHINGTON (Sept. 2, 2025) — The U.S. Department of the Treasury has sanctioned an oil-smuggling network led by Iraqi–Kittitian businessman Waleed al-Samarra'i, whose operations involved blending Iranian oil with Iraqi oil and falsely marketing it to evade sanctions.
The network generated significant revenue—an estimated $300 million annually—for both the Iranian regime and al-Samarra'i himself. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeted al-Samarra'i, his companies Babylon Navigation DMCC and Galaxy Oil FZ LLC, and multiple vessels and shell companies linked to the operation.
