Wang Shaoyun, Mahmood Rashid Amur al Habsi, and Associated Individuals and Companies

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The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program is offering a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, and its various branches, including the IRGC-Qods Force (IRGC-QF). IRGC, Iran’s primary mechanism for supporting terrorist groups abroad, has financed numerous terrorist attacks and activities globally. The IRGC funds its international activities – in part – through sales of sanctioned Iranian oil via a network of front companies that launder illicit revenue through the U.S. banking system.

From 2019 through as late as July 2021, Chinese national Wang Shaoyun (王少云) and her associate, Omani national Mahmood Rashid Amur al Habsi, used affiliated individuals and front companies based in China, Oman, and Turkey to arrange the sale and shipment of sanctioned Iranian oil to Chinese government-owned refineries and companies in China to benefit IRGC-QF. Wang worked on behalf of Chinese companies to arrange the sale of Iranian oil through U.S.-based front companies, and al Habsi facilitated the sale and shipment of the oil through his front companies and network of maritime vessels.

On August 13, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated al Habsi and several front companies pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the IRGC-QF. As a result, all of al Habsi’s property, and interests in property, subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with him. It is a crime to knowingly provide, or to attempt or conspire to provide, material support or resources to IRGC-QF.

On February 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Wang and al Habsi, along with their co-conspirators, for using the U.S. financial system to facilitate the sale of more than $100 million worth of Iranian oil to benefit the IRGC-QF, Iran’s primary conduit for providing lethal support to terrorist organizations abroad.