The US Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit to seize $47 million in revenues from the sale of approximately one million barrels of crude oil, which US authorities claim originated from Iran and was stored in Croatia. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, targets the proceeds generated from the oil’s sale between 2022 and 2024.
The US alleges that the transactions were conducted to benefit Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its elite Qods Force, both of which are designated as terrorist organizations. According to the lawsuit, intermediaries misrepresented the oil’s origin, falsely labeling it as Malaysian oil using forged documents. They also manipulated tanker identification systems to hide that the oil had been loaded in Iran. The lawsuit further claims that the storage costs in Croatia were paid in US dollars, with transactions processed through American banks, which would have blocked the payments had they known the oil’s true origin.
The oil in question was stored at the JANAF terminal in Omisalj, located on the island of Krk in Croatia. US authorities assert that the oil belongs to the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), which is accused of supporting the IRGC and financing terrorism.
This lawsuit is part of the US’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, aiming to reduce its oil exports, which the US argues fund Tehran-backed militant groups. Recently, Washington also imposed sanctions on a Chinese terminal involved in receiving Iranian oil.
Funds seized from cases like this one may be redirected to the Victims of State-Sponsored Terrorism Fund. The investigation is being led by the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations in New York.
