A Greek shipping magnate whose tankers have been seized by US authorities for transporting Iranian oil has admitted breaching American sanctions during cross-examination at London’s High Court.
Global shipping baron George Gialozoglou confessed in court that he has engaged in sanction-busting by repeatedly transporting banned Iranian gasoline across international waters, disguising it as Iraqi.
Gialozoglou told the court that his vessel had been in breach of US sanctions and claimed he had been “naive” in allowing it to travel from Iran carrying the contraband. He also acknowledged he had no legal procedures in place to ensure compliance with the sanctions regime.
The admissions came during proceedings in a commercial dispute being heard at the High Court, Ceto Shipping Corporation v Savory Shipping Inc. The case centres on the ownership and operation of the oil tanker Victor 1, which was chartered by Ceto and used to transport sanctioned cargo.
Gialozoglou allegedly agreed to the gradual sale of Victor 1 to Ceto over a five-year period; Ceto claim he reneged on the transfer of the vessel at the very end of the agreement – after millions had been paid – over allegations that Ceto had breached sanctions, court documents said.
The documents also stated that according to Ceto, Gialozoglou knowingly allowed the vessel to transport sanctioned Iranian oil before terminating the rental agreement on the transferred ownership of the vessel. But Gialozoglou told the court he was “victim” of Ceto’s wrongdoing.
At the start of his cross-examination, Gialozoglou claimed he had not known his ship had violated US sanctions. But by the end of the session, he admitted that at “all material times” he knew his vessel had loaded oil in Iran – and was also aware of forged documents that falsely stated the cargo originated in Iraq.
When asked directly by lawyers whether a particular voyage involved a breach of sanctions, Gialozoglou simply replied: “Yes.”
As previously reported by the JC, the Victor 1 transported sanctioned Iranian oil. Gialozoglou addmitted in court that the cargo was disguised using fake paperwork signed by the captain of the tanker.
In August 2020, US authorities intercepted four of Gialozoglou’s tankers – Bella, Bering, Pandi and Luna – operated by his company International Marine Services.
In court Gialozoglou admitted to knowing about the breach of Iranian sanctions and forged paperwork – but claimed not to know the ships were heading for Venezuela.
Taking the stand on Thursday, Gialozoglou told the court that trading with Iran was a “red line”.
“There are two red lines: Iranian cargo and Venezuelan cargo. We are not able to afford it,” he said. He agreed that breaching US sanctions against Iran would be a catastrophe for his businesses.
Companies implicated in violating US sanctions risk being cut off from dollar transactions, which can affect access to banking, insurance and international trade.
“We are not willing to fight in the name of Iran. We are not willing to fight anyone, we are people carrying cargo,” Gialozoglou told the court.
