The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has designated Iraq’s Deputy Minister of Oil Ali Maarij Al-Bahadly, three senior figures linked to Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, and four Iraqi companies, targeting what it described as an Iran-linked scheme exploiting Iraq’s oil sector and financing militia activity. Treasury alleges the network diverted Iraqi oil, mixed Iranian oil with Iraqi supplies, falsified origin documents, and used commercial fronts to support oil smuggling and weapons procurement. Maarij was designated under Executive Order 13902 for assisting previously designated oil smuggler Salim Ahmed Said, including by granting export rights, authorizing trucking of several million USD of oil per day from the Qayarah oil field to VS Oil Terminal FZE in Khor Zubayr, and falsifying provenance records. Under Executive Order 13224, as amended, Treasury also designated Mustafa Hashim Lazim Al-Behadili for supporting Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq and controlling four oil-sector companies, and designated Ahmed Khudair Maksus Maksus and Mohammed Issa Kadhim al-Shuwaili over links to Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada and Hizballah-linked weapons activity. The measures block property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction, extend to entities owned 50 percent or more by blocked persons, and can expose foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate significant transactions for the designated persons to secondary sanctions.
U.S. Department of the Treasury 2026-05-07
U.S. Department of the Treasury designates Iraq’s Deputy Minister of Oil three militia figures and four companies over Iran-linked oil diversion
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has designated Iraq’s Deputy Minister of Oil Ali Maarij Al-Bahadly, three senior militia-linked figures, and four Iraqi companies for allegedly exploiting Iraq’s oil sector to finance Iran-linked militia activity. The network is accused of diverting Iraqi oil, mixing Iranian and Iraqi supplies, falsifying origin documents, and using commercial fronts for oil smuggling and weapons procurement. The designations under Executive Orders 13902 and 13224 block property under U.S. jurisdiction and may expose foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate significant transactions for them to secondary sanctions.