(Dreamstime)
Iranian authorities are investigating allegations that at least $1.6 billion in oil revenue handled through a secret network of intermediaries was not returned to the state, according to reports that have renewed scrutiny of Tehran’s methods for moving money around international sanctions.
Iran International reported in July that senior officials acknowledged intermediaries in the network, commonly known as “trusties” or “trustees,” had allegedly misappropriated at least $1.6 billion, with some leaving the country.
The intermediaries are companies and individuals entrusted with receiving and transferring Iranian oil proceeds outside the conventional international banking system.
Zabihollah Khodaeian, head of Iran’s State Inspection Organization, said on state television that one intermediary alone failed to return $200 million before fleeing Iran.
Authorities have opened 59 criminal cases involving managers of trustee companies, while prosecutors have sought Interpol Red Notices for 15 fugitives, according to Iran International.
The disclosures prompted Majid Reza Hariri, head of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce, to question how the intermediaries were selected and supervised.
“Who introduced these trusties? Who guaranteed them? And why is no action being taken against those who backed them?” Hariri asked, while alleging that intermediaries had escaped with “billions of dollars” in national wealth.
His broader estimate has not been independently verified.
Iran has increasingly relied on intermediaries, front companies, and overseas financial channels as sanctions have restricted Iranian banks’ access to the international financial system.
The U.S. Treasury has repeatedly targeted such networks, saying Iranian oil is sold through an “array of front companies” to generate revenue despite sanctions.
“The Treasury Department will continue to increase pressure on Iranian oil sales to deprive the Iranian regime and its military of the financial resources it needs to threaten U.S. allies and partners in the Middle East,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in May.
“We will not allow the Iranian government to increase its oil revenue for the purpose of reconstituting its armed forces and military capabilities.”
The specific $1.6 billion allegation remains under investigation, and a complete public accounting establishing how much money was lost and who was responsible has not been released.
Subsequent reporting indicates Iranian authorities have continued pursuing cases involving the trustee system, including the August arrest of an alleged intermediary accused of more than €300 million (roughly $350 million) in banking debt.
Khodaeian added that some trustees had “betrayed” the country.
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