The administration of U.S. President Donald J. Trump has imposed sanctions on six Iranian men and companies for counterfeiting Yemeni currency as a part of a scheme by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to destabilize the country.
The Treasury Department said Monday that those sanctioned, including two German-based printing and design firms, are part of a network that produced potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in fake Yemeni cash. It said the network used “deceptive measures” to get around European export restrictions to buy advanced equipment and materials to print the counterfeits for the Guard Corps.
“This scheme exposes the deep levels of deception the IRGC-Qods Force is willing to employ against companies in Europe, governments in the Gulf, and the rest of the world to support its destabilizing activities,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
“Counterfeiting strikes at the heart of the international financial system, and the fact that elements of the government of Iran are involved in this behavior is completely unacceptable,” he added.
The sanctioned companies are Pardazesh Tasvir Rayan Co., Tejarat Almas Mobin and the German firms ForEnt Technik and Printing Trade Center. Their owners also face sanctions, which include a freeze on any assets they may have in U.S. jurisdictions.