Treasure lawyers, not just tankers
WASHINGTON, Thursday, October 22, 2026 — The United States on Wednesday moved its economic war against Iran into the boardroom, sanctioning a Panama- and Greece-based law firm, shipping agents and nine vessels it accuses of keeping Tehran’s so-called shadow fleet afloat, as mysterious explosions were reported on Iran’s Strait of Hormuz shoreline.
The Treasury Department said it had blacklisted the law firm Karnakis and Karnakis, five people associated with it, and maritime businesses in Singapore and Dubai accused of helping Iran conceal ship ownership and move oil and other commodities in violation of US sanctions. Nine vessels were identified as blocked property, trade sources said.
Nine vessels blocked, including two Dubai-owned
According to the Treasury announcement, the designated vessels include seven Panama-flagged cargo ships — Anemos, Gloris, Pride, Destiny, Flamingo 1, Harmony and Prince — operated and managed by Roxette Maritime Shipping and Trading S.A., with Karnakis and Karnakis serving as its corporate agent, plus Whales Diamond and Whales Pearl, two UAE-flagged support vessels owned by Dubai-based Whales Shipping Line LLC.
Treasury officials said the firm had registered shipping companies whose vessels transported hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian petroleum, petrochemicals and steel, and accused its employees of serving as company directors and officers to disguise the real owners.
“Whether you are conducting illegal oil transfers at sea or sitting in the corner office of a law firm, if you are supporting the Iranian regime, we will find you and sanction you,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the announcement.
The designations freeze any property the listed parties hold within US jurisdiction and generally bar Americans from dealing with them. Maritime analysts said foreign banks that handle transactions for the designated network could also face losing access to US correspondent banking.
Greek bank probe and Economic Outcast
The action forms part of Operation Economic Outcast, the Treasury-led campaign Bessent launched in August to choke off the networks, intermediaries and financial channels Iran uses to export commodities and evade sanctions.
In a parallel move, Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an administrative subpoena under the Bank Secrecy Act to investigate an unnamed Greek bank’s potential ties to Iran and its proxies. Officials stressed the move was an investigation, with no finding of wrongdoing announced, and said FinCEN was coordinating with Greek and other European authorities.
Mystery blasts on the Hormuz shore
The sanctions landed on the same day Iran’s state media reported the sound of several explosions in the Karpan area of Sirik, in the southern Hormozgan province overlooking the Strait of Hormuz. The official IRNA news agency said local sources had “not yet disclosed the nature of these explosions” and did not say whether the area had been targeted or whether missile launches had been carried out from it.
It is the first such incident reported in the area this month, breaking a stretch of relative calm in the US-Iran conflict that began in late February. The Strait of Hormuz carried around a fifth of the world’s oil supplies in peacetime; Tehran has demanded all ships seek its authorisation to cross, while Washington has imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports and shipping.
Shipping industry officials said any blast on the Hormuz shoreline moves tanker insurance rates within hours, and urged owners to treat the Sirik reports as developing until Iranian authorities clarify what happened.
