US moves to confiscate Venezuelan 747 cargo jet with Iran ties

The U.S. government asked Argentina on Tuesday to seize a Venezuelan Boeing 737-300 freighter with links to Iran for violation of export control laws.

The plane has been held by Argentine authorities since it landed in Buenos Aires in early June because of U.S. sanctions and concerns about potential espionage, news wires previously reported. Argentine officials are trying to determine what to do with the cargo plane loaded with automotive parts and an unusually large crew of 17, including at least five Iranians.

A warrant unsealed in a federal district court alleges Mahan Air, an Iranian airline alleged to be affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, transferred the aircraft without authorization to Emtrasur Cargo, a subsidiary of a Venezuelan state-owned company.

Iran and Venezuela, which are both under U.S. sanctions, have close ties. The U.S. defines the Revolutionary Guard as a foreign terrorist organization.

Mahan Air has been denied since 2008 from exporting any U.S.-made commodity subject to security-related export regulations. Flying the aircraft across Iran’s border is prohibited under the sanctions. The warrant alleges that Mahan Air violated U.S. law when it sold the plane to Emtrasur Cargo last October. The companies further violated the denial order between February and March when Emtrasur flew the plane between Caracas, Venezuela; Tehran; and Moscow without U.S. permission, according to a Justice Department news release.

The registered captain of the aircraft detained in Argentina was identified as an ex-commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and a shareholder and member of the board of Iranian airline Qeshm Fars Air, the Justice Department said.

Argentinian law enforcement also found a Mahan Air flight log documenting the aircraft’s flight activity. 

Mahan Air has been under U.S. sanctions since 2011 for supporting Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards. Qeshm Fars Air was designated for sanctions in 2019 for being controlled by Mahan Air and supporting the Quds Force. 

Emtrasur’s parent company was designated by OFAC in 2020 for assisting targeted regimes involved in terrorism and other activities that threaten U.S. national security. 

“The seizure of this aircraft demonstrates our determination to hold accountable those who seek to violate U.S. sanctions and export control laws,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves for the District of Columbia. “We will aggressively seek to prevent sanctioned entities from gaining access to America-made items or profiting from their illegal transfer. Working with our federal and international partners, we will be unflagging in our efforts to bring to justice those who violate those sanctions and to seize assets where appropriate and lawful.”

The 36-year-old Emtrasur 747-300 is one of 21 combination passenger-cargo versions made by Boeing. Overall, the 747-300 did not sell well compared with other variants because it was more expensive and didn’t have many upgrades, according to Simple Flying.

The FBI, Department of Commerce, and Bureau of Industry and Security are also involved in the investigation. 

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

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Editor: Eric Kulisch