(May 27, 2020) -A businessman accused of helping Iran smuggle weapons is linked to a mysterious technology company active in Oman, an investigation by Levant Networks has found.
While the US government provided clues about Iranian national Amir Dianat’s business activities, open source materials reviewed by Levant Networks provide a more in-depth picture.
On May 1, the US sanctioned Iranian national Dianat for his alleged role in supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Qods Force to smuggle weapons, including missiles.
“Dianat has been directly involved in IRGC – Qods Force efforts to smuggle shipments from Iran to Yemen,” the US Department of the Treasury said in a statement.
Iranian corporate records reviewed by Levant Networks show that Dianat is the managing director of Moshtag Tejarat Sanat mining company based in Tehran.
A profile for Moshtag Tejarat Sanat on an Iranian business exhibition portal shows that the firm shares a website with BEM Technology Group, a mysterious company working in Oman.
Meanwhile, in January 2019, Moshtag Tejarat Sanat and BEM Technology Group shared a booth at the IRANGMEX exhibition in Tehran, according to a photo on Instagram.
BEM Technology Group, which is headquartered in Oman’s capital of Muscat, says it provides technological services for exploration. While the company says it is based in Oman, no company by the name could be found in the country’s business register.
BEM Technology Group’s relationship with Dianat’s company remains shrouded in mystery. In a January 2019 interview with an Iranian media outlet, BEM Technology Group CEO Ali Bostani said that his company was a subsidiary of Moshtag Tejarat Sanat.
Levant Networks cross-referenced information on Ali Bostani’s LinkedIn account and BEM Technology Group’s website to determine that the firm was most likely registered in Iran in 2011 under the name Negareh Gonbad Sharq. Adding further to the mystery, the firm has since been dissolved, according to Iranian records.
Bostani did not respond to questions sent from Levant Networks regarding his company’s ties to Dianat and the recent US actions against the Iranian businessman.
BEM Technology Group’s website lists the same address in Muscat as Taif Mining Services, a firm sanctioned along with Dianat. According to the US, Dianat used Taif Mining Services to purchase an oil tanker for Iran.
The US went beyond sanctioning Dianat and Taif Mining Services and also indicted the Iranian businessman and his Omani company in a court in Washington D.C.
According to an affidavit by an FBI agent filed in the case, three other Iranian companies helped Taif Mining Services obtain the oil tanker. While the document did not name these companies, it provided clues on their identity.
The FBI agent who wrote the document said that two of these Iranian companies shared an address in Muscat with Taif Mining Services. Levant Networks could not determine whether the affidavit was referring to BEM Technology Group, Moshtag Tejarat Sanat, or Negareh Gonbad Sharq.
Source » levantnetworks