The United States has filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking to seize a crude oil tanker and roughly 1.8 million barrels of oil allegedly linked to a sanctions-evasion network benefiting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Justice Department announced Friday.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, targets the motor tanker Skipper, which U.S. authorities seized on the high seas in December 2025, along with cargo supplied by Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PdVSA), Venezuela’s state-owned oil company. Prosecutors allege the vessel and its cargo are subject to forfeiture because they provided financial support and influence to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Qods Force, which the United States designates as foreign terrorist organizations.
According to the Justice Department, the tanker operated as part of a so-called “ghost fleet” of vessels accused of moving Iranian and Venezuelan oil worldwide through deceptive practices such as falsified flags, location spoofing and ship-to-ship transfers designed to evade sanctions enforcement.
Officials said the Skipper transported oil from Iran and Venezuela between at least 2021 and 2025, including an alleged 2024 delivery of approximately 3 million barrels of Iranian crude to Syria. The vessel also loaded Venezuelan-origin oil in November 2025 at the José Terminal, with shipping documents indicating that about 1.1 million barrels were destined for Cubametales, Cuba’s state-run oil company, which has been under U.S. sanctions since 2019.
The tanker was sanctioned in November 2022 by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, when it operated under the name Adisa, authorities said.
On Dec. 10, 2025, U.S. law enforcement seized the vessel pursuant to a judicial warrant while it was sailing under what officials described as a false Guyanese flag, which prosecutors said rendered it stateless under maritime law. The tanker and its cargo were later moved to waters off the Texas coast.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi said the action reflects the administration’s effort to cut off financial support to governments viewed as adversaries. Federal law enforcement leaders, including FBI Director Kash Patel and Homeland Security Investigations officials, said the case demonstrates coordination among agencies to disrupt sanctions-evasion networks tied to terrorism financing and global instability.
The Justice Department alleges revenue from illicit oil shipments supports activities attributed to the IRGC, including weapons proliferation, terrorism support and human rights abuses.
The FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office and Homeland Security Investigations’ Washington field office are leading the investigation, with assistance from HSI New York.
A civil forfeiture complaint is an allegation, and the government must prove its case in court.
Texas Reporter 