The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated a network of individuals, entities, and vessels that it said were responsible for shipping hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian-origin LPG⸺intentionally disguised as Omani LPG⸺to end users in South and East Asia.
OFAC said the network used front companies in the United Arab Emirates and China, foreign bank accounts, and Iran’s "shadow fleet" to move millions of barrels of Iranian LPG while concealing its Iranian origin and evading US sanctions.
OFAC said it is taking this action to expose the complicit actors enabling an economic lifeline for Iran while exploiting commercial infrastructure to obfuscate their actions.
Afghani national Sarbaz Abdul Zada and Turkish national Mohammad Shakol Mihandoust (Mihandoust), also known as Haji Shakoor, operate a network of front companies in the UAE responsible for exporting millions of barrels of Iranian LPG to end users across South and East Asia, often falsely identifying it as Omani LPG as a means to evade sanctions.
OFAC said UAE-based front companies Butani Trading, Dundlod Trading, and ADH Energy operate in furtherance of this scheme. Butani Trading has shipped tens of thousands of tonnes of Iranian LPG, worth tens of millions of dollars, to South Asia.
In March 2026, ADH Energy was used to sell and export millions of barrels of Iranian LPG to end users in Bangladesh. OFAC identified as blocked property the vessel behind one such shipment in April 2026, the LPG tanker Sevan, which was responsible for transporting 750,000 barrels of LPG to Bangladesh between August and November 2025.
In October 2025, Dundlod Trading delivered 22,000 tonnes of LPG to Bangladesh worth approximately US$10.5 million also using Sevan. In May 2025, Dundlod Trading also delivered multiple shipments of LPG to Bangladesh using the LPG tanker Gas Zeina, which has transported Iranian origin LPG to Bangladesh since 2024. Abdul Zada has similarly used UAE-based Sahel Star Oil and Gas Company to ship Iranian LPG in the past.
OFAC is additionally designating China-based Shanghai Qianye Energy, which is owned and operated by Mihandoust.
The following vessels have transported tens of millions of barrels of Iranian LPG, many on behalf of Abdul Zada and Mihandoust’s network and are thus being added to OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List as property in which a blocked person has an interest:
1. The Palau-flagged MD 23, which is owned, managed, and operated by Marshall Islands-based Limra Gas, has transported hundreds of thousands of barrels of Iranian LPG since 2023.
2. The Panama-flagged Glendale, which is owned by Liberia-based Ecoseas Maritime, has transported millions of barrels of Iranian LPG since 2020.
3. The St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged Amir Gas, which is owned, managed, and operated by Marshall Islands-based Blue Sea Marine and Faateh Maritime, has transported hundreds of thousands of barrels of Iranian LPG since 2025.
4. The Panama-flagged Gas Lagoon, which is owned, managed, and operated by Marshall Islands-based Adamas Shipping, has transported millions of barrels of Iranian LPG since 2023.
5. The Panama-flagged Mile, which is owned by Marshall Islands-based Black Gold Trade Corporation, has transported millions of barrels of Iranian LPG since 2024. In early 2025, Butani Trading used Mile to ship over half a million barrels of Iranian-origin LPG to end users in Bangladesh.
6. The Panama-flagged Gaz GMS, which is owned by Marshall Islands-based Gas GMS, has transported hundreds of thousands of barrels of Iranian LPG since 2023.