A British engineer, along with four other family members, has faced penalties for operating a ‘shadow banking network’ that facilitated the laundering of billions of pounds on behalf of the Iranian government, as revealed by the Mail on Sunday.
Dr. Farhad Zarringhalam, 44, formerly employed by Nokia, was penalized on Monday by the Treasury, along with his uncles and brothers, at least two of whom are also British citizens. All five individuals seemed to have resided inLondon in recent years.
Dr. Zarringhalam, who earned his PhD in mobile cellular networks from King’s College, London, stated last night that he intends to contest the Government’s ruling.
The Treasury claims the British-Iranian is “linked to individuals who have participated in actions aimed at destabilizing the United Kingdom.”
His family is alleged to have operated an underground financial system for the Tehran government via a web of currency exchanges and shell companies located inChinaand the United Arab Emirates.
The network is alleged to have directed billions of pounds from Iranian oil sales, violating US and European sanctions.
It is also alleged to be utilizing oil revenues to fund arms for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which has spearheaded the recent conflict with the United States and Israel and has imposed a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.
However, last night, Dr. Zarringhalam refuted any misconduct, stating to the MoS: ‘Any such claim is a significant misinterpretation of the facts, and I plan to contest my UK sanctions designation at the earliest possible chance.’
An executive originally from Iran, who worked at Nokia in London while pursuing his doctorate, stated that although he is not currently in the UK, some of his assets in Britain have been frozen by the Treasury.
Additional family members who have been sanctioned are Fazlolah Zarringhalam, 74, also a British citizen residing in London, as reported by the Treasury.
Additionally, Mansour Zarringhalam, 63, who seems to have resided in Finchley, North London, holds citizenship from the Caribbean tax haven of St Kitts and Nevis.
Nasser Zarringhalam, 66, who also resided in Finchley, holds a passport from St Kitts and Nevis, as does Pouria Zarringhalam, 30, who is also a British citizen.
Electoral registration documents indicate that Pouria has resided in Finchley along with Canary Wharf, East London, in recent times.
The British measures were implemented a year following the US Treasury’s designation of Nasser, Mansour, and Fazlolah Zarringhalam last year.
At that time, the US imposed sanctions on 30 additional individuals and organizations linked to the Zarringhalams, stating that the Ayatollah regime “uses this network to bypass restrictions and transfer funds from its oil and petrochemical sales, which enable the regime to finance its nuclear and missile programs and back its terrorist allies.”
The UK Treasury imposed sanctions on 12 Iranian individuals and organizations on Monday, including the GCM Exchange and the Berelian Exchange, which are two financial institutions utilized by the Zarringhalams for their clandestine banking activities, as reported by officials.
Additionally, the Zindashti Network was also sanctioned, accused of recruiting agents in nations such as the United Kingdom to conduct terrorist attacks on behalf of the Iranian government.
The restrictions were imposed during a period when incidents targeting Jewish individuals in Britain have increased, such as fires set against synagogues and private ambulance services operated by Jewish organizations.
It is believed that certain attacks may have been organized by IRGC agents who recruited local offenders.
Last night, additional members of the Zarringhalam family were unavailable for response.
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