Intensifying its worldwide economic offensive against Tehran’s petroleum exports, the United States has imposed comprehensive sanctions on an Indian couple and their extensive corporate network for orchestrating maritime fraud schemes to facilitate Iran’s “shadow fleet.” According to the US Department of the Treasury, the sanctioned network established fraudulent ship registrations, counterfeit sovereign flags, and unauthorized classification certificates to assist blacklisted tankers carrying Iranian crude oil and refined petroleum products. Announcing the action on Wednesday under the Trump administration’s aggressive “Operation Economic Outcast,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a stern warning on social media platform X, reiterating that Washington will relentlessly pursue any entity sustaining Tehran’s financial conduits: “As we have said many times, under Operation Economic Outcast, you are either with us or against us. We know where you are, and we will sanction those who continue supporting the Iranian regime, whether by land, sea, or air.”
Counterfeit Flags and Phantom Registries: The Operational Network of Sharma and Shahid
Official findings published by the Treasury Department identify the principal targets as India-based Suniel Kumar Sharma and his wife, Jaspreet Preeti Shahid. Investigators established that the couple built an unauthorized maritime registry apparatus by launching misleading websites that falsely claimed to represent sovereign flagging authorities and classification bodies of nations that had never granted them authorization. The network’s illicit activities stretch back to at least 2014, when they allegedly attempted to impersonate Dominica’s sovereign maritime flagging authority. By providing counterfeit registration paperwork and fake flags, Sharma and Shahid enabled tankers moving Iranian petroleum—including vessels operating directly on behalf of Iran’s military and its regional proxies—to evade international inspections and bypass global port restrictions.
Sanctioned tankers circumvent international maritime regulations. Source: nedomacki / Getty Images
Eight India-Based Commercial Entities and Turkish Aviation Firm Named in Sanctions Order
The federal designation blacklists a wide array of commercial enterprises linked directly to the couple’s operations in India, including Oceaniek Technologies India, Aryavart Ship Management Private Limited, Precept Trends Private Limited, Polynesia Maritime Private Limited, Alexarya Finserv Private Limited, Alexarya Media and Entertainment Private Limited, Viharaboating Private Limited, and Aryavart Maritime and Educational Trust. Enacted pursuant to Executive Order 13902—which authorizes punitive measures against core sectors of Iran’s economy such as petroleum, petrochemicals, and aviation—the enforcement action also targeted Türkiye-based Fugo Ground Services Inc. The Turkish company was designated for providing ground handling and logistics to blacklisted Iranian commercial carriers, including Iran Air Tour, Saha Airlines, Sepehran Airlines, Varesh Airlines, Taban Airlines, and Ata Airlines Company, despite repeated diplomatic alerts regarding the risks of servicing designated airlines.
Operation Economic Outcast and Global Maritime Alert Against Uninsured Tankers
First initiated by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on August 24, 2026, Operation Economic Outcast represents a coordinated American campaign designed to sever Iran’s economic arteries by targeting illicit oil smuggling syndicates, financial clearinghouses, and sanctions-evasion intermediaries. Alongside the enforcement actions, the Treasury Department dispatched an urgent global maritime advisory cautioning commercial shipping firms, maritime insurers, and port operators against dealing with falsely flagged vessels. The advisory warned that fraudulent registrations strip vessels of legitimate indemnity coverage and allow operators to bypass fundamental international standards for crew safety and marine environmental protection. Under the sanctions, all assets and financial interests belonging to the designated individuals and entities within US jurisdiction are blocked, and entities engaging in unauthorized transactions with them face severe civil and criminal penalties.