Iranian National Charged With Fraud in Scheme to Violate US Sanctions

An Iranian national faces several fraud-related charges for his involvement with a joint project with the Iranian and Venezuelan governments to violate U.S. sanctions, the Justice Department said in a Jan. 31 press release. Bahram Karimi was a member of a committee that oversaw the construction of “thousands” of housing units in Venezuela with help from Iran, the agency said. Karimi worked with others to defraud U.S. banks by hiding the role of Iranian parties in payments sent through the U.S. banking system, which violated U.S. economic sanctions. Karimi made at least 15 payments worth about $115 million. Karimi was also charged with making false statements after he was interviewed by two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in January 2020 and said he did not know U.S. sanctions against Iran applied to Iranian companies or people. Karimi faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for both conspiring to commit bank fraud and committing bank fraud. He also faces a maximum five-year prison sentence for making false statements.