U.S. Sanctions Syrian Conglomerate with ties to ISIS, IRGC
“The Al-Qatirji Company has morphed into one of the main channels through which the IRGC-QF generates revenue and funds its regional proxy groups.”
Nov. 15, 2024
WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) On Thursday, the U.S. announced new sanctions on a Syrian trading company, the Al-Qatirji Company.
The company’s activities benefit Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), as well as Yemen’s Houthis, as the IRGC-QF uses funds from the proceeds to fund the Houthis.
The company has close ties to the Syrian regime, including Syrian intelligence. It is involved in trading oil, as well as arms and ammunition. As the U.S. imposed new sanctions on the Al-Qatirji Company, it also sanctioned the shipping companies and vessels used by the company.
2018 Sanctions on Al-Qatirji Company for Dealing with ISIS
Al-Qatirji was earlier sanctioned “for its role in facilitating the sale of fuel between the Syrian regime and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria,” a Sept. 6, 2018, Treasury announcement explained.
Muhammad al-Qatirji long headed the company—until his death last summer In an Israeli attack. The company is a family-owned and managed business.
In 2018, the U.S. sanctioned Muhammad al-Qatirji and his company for supplying Syria with oil pumped from ISIS territory, while providing ISIS with refined fuel products.
“Qatirji maintains strong ties to the Syrian regime and facilitates fuel trade between the regime and ISIS, including providing oil products to ISIS-controlled territory,” the Treasury Department’s 2018 announcement of sanctions said.
The announcement explained that Qatirji dealt with both the Syrian regime and ISIS. He “has worked directly with ISIS representatives to provide oil products” for the terrorist group, while he also “has a strong working relationship with multiple officials within the Government of Syria, to include several contracts with the Syrian Ministry of Oil and Syrian Ministry of Trade.”
“Qatirji is responsible for import and export activities in Syria and assists with transporting weapons and ammunition under the pretext of importing and exporting food items,” it continued.
The statement also explained that Syrian intelligence oversaw those shipments.
The company has a trucking unit, which has been used to ship weapons from Iraq to Syria, Treasury said. “Additionally, in a 2016 trade deal between the Government of Syria and ISIS, the Al-Qatirji Company was identified as the exclusive agent for providing supplies to ISIS.”
Latest Sanctions on Al-Qatirji Company
The Nov. 14, 2024, announcement of the new sanctions says nothing about Al-Qatirji’s support for ISIS, but rather, it is focused on the company’s dealings with Iran.
“The Al-Qatirji Company has morphed into one of the main channels through which the IRGC-QF generates revenue and funds its regional proxy groups,” the Treasury Department announcement said, and the new sanctions target that activity.
As the announcement explained, the Al-Qatirji Company is “responsible for generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue” for the IRGC-QF “and the Houthis through the sale of Iranian oil to Syria and the People’s Republic of China.”
Several months ago, in mid-July, Israel targeted the head of the company, Mohammad Baraa al-Qatarji, in an airstrike, as it bombed the car in which he was traveling on the Beirut-Damascus highway.
Following Mohammed’s death, his brother, Hussam Al-Qatirji (also spelled Khatirji), took over the company. In addition to his role in the company, he is also a member of the Syrian parliament. The European Union sanctioned him in 2019, for his support to the regime, and the U.S. did so in the new sanctions.
In addition, three others in the family were sanctioned, along with nine shipping and trading companies and 13 ships.