Treasury fines U.S. company millions of dollars for using Venezuelan-Iranian plane linked to terrorism

The Treasury Department announced that Fracht FWO Inc., a Houston-based transportation company, must pay $1,610,775 after it was confirmed that it had ignored U.S. sanctions programs related to Venezuela and Iran.

The contract in question

According to the investigation by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in May 2022, the firm contracted the Venezuelan airline EMTRASUR to move auto parts from Mexico to Argentina. This airline is a subsidiary of Conviasa, a company controlled by Nicolás Maduro's regime and sanctioned by Washington.

The transfer was carried out in an airplane registered in Venezuela with registration number YV-3531, but which in reality was associated with Mahan Air, an Iranian airline banned in the United States. This was compounded by the fact that the crew was Iranian, making the operation a double violation of the sanctions programs.

Economic impact and seriousness of the case

According to the OFAC report, the contract allowed the Venezuelan regime to receive a benefit of approximately $935,000. The agency concluded that the transaction involved assets blocked for links to Iran and the proliferation of illicit activities.

The agency called the company's actions "egregious" and stressed that they were not reported voluntarily, which increased the severity of the sanction.