Saturday, January 5, 2013

IS IRAN USING INDIA TO CIRCUMVENT SANCTIONS ?

The continuing relationship between Iran and India, due to, in large part, India's dependence on Iranian oil, could serve as a cover for sanctions evasion. Though given an exemption by the United States, and though a form of barter, food-for-oil, between the two countries, effectively avoids currency sanctions issues, there is still the possibility that clever Iranian financial professionals have found a number of ways to acquire goods or services through India. The question is: are Indian regulators and law enforcement agencies watching for sanctions evasion ?

How would such sanctions evasion operations through India be accomplished ? if I was sitting in a regulatory agency in India, i would look for;

(1) Use of Hawallah resources, as they lie totally outside the global financial system.

(2) Routing the goods through the UAE, as trade with India is not going to set off alarms in Dubai.

(3) Using third-party countries that trade with Iran, such as China. Individuals involved in this activity might even want to work through Myanmar or North Korea (DPRK).

Of course, I am assuming that Indian regulators and law enforcement agencies are interested in enforcing UN/US/EU sanctions on Iran. Are they really, I wonder ? Does anyone know ?


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