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Trade Data Reveals Iran’s Aluminum Supply-Chain from China, India, Guinea
Chinese and Indian state-owned enterprises are key players in Iran’s aluminum supply chain, according to public records and commercial trade data provided by Panjiva. Investigations into several Iranian facilities indicate routine foreign support at each stage of the...
Rusal Calls for Overhaul of Nornickel Management Citing Repeated Ecological Crises
Russian aluminum titan Rusal issued a statement on Tuesday calling for the complete overhaul of the Nornickel mining company’s management following a recent series of ecological disasters caused by the company. Rusal (United Company Rusal PLC), a major shareholder of...
Public Records Show Network of Iraqi Businessman Linked to Saddam Hussein
A prominent Iraqi family with a history of helping former President Saddam Hussein procure illicit goods from the 1990s into the early 2000s maintains an active commercial network in the UAE, Jordan, Iraq, and Turkey. The Al-Handal family helped Saddam skirt United...
Sayari Announces Series B Extension with In-Q-Tel, MissionOG, and TFX Capital
Washington D.C. - Sayari Labs, Inc., a global leader in financial intelligence and supply chain risk solutions, today announced a $2.5M extension to its $9M Series B funding round, with investments from In-Q-Tel, MissionOG, and TFX Capital. They join current investors...
Replacing Mahan Air: Iran’s Aviation Procurement Scheme Via Armenia Airways
An Armenian airline facilitated the purchase and transfer of multiple aircraft containing U.S.-manufactured components and parts to Iran, according to public records. These transfers could be in violation of U.S. export control regulations. Since 2019, Armenia Airways...
Intellectual Property Theft From the US to China: The Case of Shan Shi
A U.S. company that recently pleaded guilty to stealing trade secrets is connected to a broader corporate network spanning multiple jurisdictions, according to public records. Given the company’s alleged involvement in stealing trade secrets, other entities operating...
In the Grace I’s Wake: Ship Managers, Front Companies, and Iran (Part 3)
We continue with Part 3 of our investigation into the Grace I, a Panama-flagged oil tanker seized off the coast of Gibraltar last July while shipping 2.1 million barrels of Iranian crude oil to Syria. You can read the introduction here. In Part 1, we looked into the...
Public Records Link Alleged Colombian Drug Trafficker to ‘Pablo Escobar of Ecuador’
An alleged drug trafficker who previously operated out of southwestern Colombia is linked to a corporate network involving one of Ecuador’s biggest cocaine kingpins, according to public records. Given their connections to alleged or known drug traffickers, the active...
Defendants and Front Companies Named in DOJ Indictment Operate Additional Active Companies and Trade with North Korea
On May 28, the United States Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against 26 North Korean and Chinese individuals for processing at least $2.5 billion in illegal payments between 2013 and 2020. These individuals, all employees of North Korea’s Foreign Trade...
Tracking a Princess: Using Public Records to Trace the Assets of Africa’s Richest Woman
In December 2019, prosecutors in Angola froze the assets of billionaire Angolan businesswoman Isabel José dos Santos. She is set to be charged with crimes related to enriching herself at the expense of the state. Although dos Santos hails from a country where nearly...
In the Grace I’s Wake: Ship Management and Sanctions Evasion (Part 2)
This is the second in a series on Iranian sanctions evasion in the maritime shipping industry. Follow these links to read the intro and part 1 of the series. We continue our investigation into the Grace I, a Panama-flagged oil tanker seized off the coast of Gibraltar...
Public Records Tie Alleged Venezuelan Money Launderer to Over $5 Million in Property, Companies in Hong Kong
A contractor for subsidiaries of Venezuela’s state-owned oil firm, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), who was charged in March with money laundering is connected to over $5 million in property spanning Florida and California, along with five previously unidentified...
In the Grace I’s Wake: Who Owned the Grace I? (Part 1)
This is the first in a series on Iranian sanctions evasion in the maritime shipping industry. In case you missed it, you can read the introduction here. Part 1: Our investigation into the Grace I’s ownership leads to an Emirati family with a history of supporting...
In the Grace I’s Wake: Countering Sanctions Evasion and Illicit Shipping
Last July, British Royal Marines and Gibraltar authorities seized the Grace I, a Panama-flagged oil tanker carrying 2.1 million barrels of crude oil. They suspected the vessel of shipping Iranian oil to Syria in contravention of European Union sanctions. There was no...
Cross-Border Registration and Continued Due Diligence: The Case of Chen Mingfu
In January 2016, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Chen Mingfu, a Chinese national, and his Hong Kong-based company, Anhui Land Group Co. Ltd for allegedly supporting Iran’s ballistic missile program. A year...
U.S. Government Issues Advisory on Deceptive Shipping Practices
The U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the U.S. Coast Guard issued an advisory on May 14 regarding illicit shipping and sanctions evasion practices. The advisory, directed at the trade and...
Identifying High-Risk Currency Exchange Centers in Mexico
Currency exchange centers continue to be used by Mexican transnational criminal organizations to launder illicit proceeds and thus present significant risks to financial institutions and U.S. national security. In our latest report, we used public records to uncover...
Trading with the Enemy: Motor Sich’s Bosnian Arrangement with the Russian Defense Sector
Between November 2017 and December 2019, Ukrainian aircraft engine manufacturer Motor Sich JSC sent more than $250 million worth of helicopter engine parts destined for Russia through Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to trade data. The three companies used in the...
Public Records Show Turkish And Qatari Elites Stand To Profit The Most From New Istanbul Canal Project
In January 2020, the Turkish Ministry of Environment approved a large-scale infrastructure project known as the Istanbul Canal, or “Erdogan’s Crazy Project” as it has been referred to by local media. Public records reveal that businesses with warm relations with...
Tracking Paraguayan Contraband Smugglers In The Open Source
A recent multimillion-dollar seizure of contraband clothing in Paraguay suggests that contraband smuggling continues to be a persistent problem affecting the country. While contraband smugglers are constantly refining their techniques to evade law enforcement, public...
Tracing the Sadr-Karimi Bank Fraud Network: How Public Records Revealed More Than an Indictment
On Mar. 16, 2020, the Southern District of New York (SDNY) convicted Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad, an Iranian national, on charges of bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. In the mid-2000s Sadr worked...
Tracking Assets of Individuals and Companies Linked to Illicit Fuel Theft in Mexico
A public records investigation by Sayari has uncovered 26 companies connected to entities and individuals suspected of being linked to illicit fuel theft in Mexico. Given their links to entities and individuals who have purportedly participated in the illicit fuel...
Thousands of Chinese Manufacturers Raise Red Flags For Risk of Prison Labor
In recent years, consumers have found evidence to suggest that some Chinese manufacturers use prison labor to fulfill demands from multinationals. How these manufacturers contract prisoners and how their use of prison labor becomes hidden in the supply chain are...
Buyer Beware: Counterfeit Mask Suppliers in the COVID-19 Era
Update: Since this article's publication, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its guidance regarding the use of face masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. These changes have been reflected within the article. Always check the CDC...
Associates of Ex-Chief of Mexico’s State-Owned Oil Firm Connected to 18 Previously Unidentified Companies
An investigation by Sayari has uncovered 18 previously unidentified companies directly connected to associates and corporate advisors of Emilio Ricardo Lozoya Austin, the former director of Mexico’s state-owned oil firm Pemex. Lozoya was recently arrested in Malaga,...
Sayari Identifies Corporate Network of Alleged Fentanyl Trafficker in Sinaloa, Mexico
A recent investigation by Sayari uncovered a Mexico-based corporate network connected to an individual suspected of supplying the Sinaloa Cartel with illicit fentanyl. Sayari used corporate and trademark records from Mexico to uncover five previously unidentified...
Identifying Companies Related to Potential Forced Uyghur Labor in Global Supply Chains
Forced labor continues to threaten the supply chains of companies that rely on Chinese manufacturing. A new report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) provides evidence to suggest that the Chinese government may be forcing Uighur and other ethnic...
Sayari Uncovers Corporate Network of Jordanian Tycoon Charged with Financial Crimes
Sayari analysts have identified the commercial network of a Jordanian businessman following his January arrest in Jordan for alleged financial crimes. The network — spanning four countries and including a major MENA region facilities management provider — has not been...
Sayari Labs Announces Global Partnership with NICE Actimize
Washington DC, February 21, 2020 – Sayari Labs, the emerging leader in financial intelligence and supply chain risk solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with NICE Actimize, a global leader in autonomous financial crime management. NICE Actimize is the...
Tracking Bashar Al-Assad’s Alleged Money Laundering Network in Sayari Graph
Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that Ammar Sahloul holds shares of Firstone International worth 40,000,000 Turkish Lira (~$6.7 million). Ammar's stake is worth 400,000 Turkish Lira (~$61,000). Sayari apologizes for the error. A Jordanian...