Israeli counter-terror group: Inmarsat admits providing services to Iranian oil tankers despite sanctions
In letter to Shurat HaDin, the telecommunications giant confirms dealings
with Tehran
Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center
10 Hata'as St., Ramat Gan 52512
ISRAEL
Phone: 972-3-7514175
Fax: 972-3-7514174
US line: 212-591-0073
Website: http://www.israellawcenter.org
TEL AVIV, August 2, 2012 – "Inmarsat's official response to Shurat HaDin, as
well as its previous statements to the media, confirms the
telecommunications giant has dealings with banned Iranian oil tankers and
other vessels," this according to Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center.
On July 30, the London-headquartered Inmarsat officially responded to Shurat
HaDin's warning via a letter authored by Rich Harris, Senior Vice President,
mailed to its Tel Aviv offices.
On July 25, Shurat HaDin warned Inmarsat against providing prohibited
satellite communications services to Iranian oil tankers and other vessels.
The warning letter stressed that Inmarsat's actions would expose the
telecommunications giant to criminal prosecution and civil liability from
Americans and others who suffer as a result of Tehran's sponsorship of
terrorism.
In a reply sent today to the mobile satellite company, Shurat HaDin pointed
out that the US sanctions regime against Iran does not merely prohibit the
direct-sale of telecommunications services to Iran or its shipping lines,
but moreover prevents its end-run by supplying services via non-US
distributors. Hence, contrary to claims made by Inmarsat in its July 30
response letter, the latter's providing of services through non-US
distributors constitutes a further breach of US law.
"Inmarsat's responses…have confirmed that not only is Inmarsat supplying
satellite communications services to a large number of ships owned, operated
or controlled by the Government of Iran…it is knowingly participating in
attempts to circumvent the US sanctions regime against Iran," stressed
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, director of the Tel Aviv-based counter terrorist
organization.
Shurat HaDin's director, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner adds: “We will not tolerate
Inmarsat’s – or any corporation’s – profiting from the blood of innocent
people. It is unacceptable for a global company to seek to cover up its
links to Iranian interests or to claim these ties are handled by third party
partners or vendors, which by itself is a violation of US law. The maritime
satellite industry can no longer get a free pass.”
On August 1, the US Congress overwhelmingly passed a new package of
sanctions against Iran, aiming to punish banks, insurance and shipping
companies helping the Islamic state sell its oil. This comes as the Obama
administration continues to slap additional Treasury Department sanctions on
Tehran's vessels, found to be facilitating the latter's nuclear weapons
program and global terrorist network. On a visit this week in Israel, US
Defense Secretary Panetta also stressed the need for more sanctions on the
Iranian regime.
Shurat HaDin underlined that Inmarsat, with offices in Miami and Washington
DC, owns and/or operates satellites providing various telecommunications
services to those with appropriate equipment to send and receive signals
from them. It is thus that if those satellites are used to provide services
to, or for the benefit of, any entity or vessel directly or indirectly
controlled by Tehran, Inmarsat would be breaching multiple US laws,
regulations and Presidential Executive Orders. Inmarsat could also be
subjected to forfeiture of its assets to judgment creditors who hold
unenforced judgments against the Islamic regime.
Shurat HaDin noted that even an Inmarsat spokesperson, Christopher
McLaughlin, admitted in a July 26 interview to Space News, that "some of
these ships nonetheless appear to be using older Inmarsat gear."
Furthermore, Inmarsat's July 30 letter to Shurat HaDin appears to suggest
that Inmarsat believes it is able to provide services to Iran via non-US
distributors, even as this activity is also prohibited under US law.
Shurat HaDin's reply to Inmarsat's letter further points out that a search
of Inmarsat's website reveals the company is providing satellite
communications services, including broadband services, to 27 ships that are
blacklisted on the Treasury Department's listing. Iran is also listed by the
US State Department as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.
On July 12, the US Treasury Department updated its listing of proscribed
companies, individuals, and property that American and non-American citizens
are prohibited from engaging and providing services to, with Iran named as
its chief culprit. The listing noted Iranian ships that have been reflagged
or operating under front companies.
Shurat HaDin notes that companies like Inmarsat that attempt to thwart the
US sanctions regime by pretending that they do not know the actual ownership
of the ships they service, or the parties they are doing business with, will
face criminal and civil liability.
Furthermore, although Inmarsat appeared to be asserting in statements that
it has a contractual obligation to provide safety communications services
for all ships, it is undeniably true that the purpose of the sanctions on
Iran is to prevent their ships from sailing. In other words, withdrawal of
the mandatory safety communications services would effectively prevent
Iranian ships setting sail. In addition, US law trumps and voids any
contractual or international convention obligations that may be in conflict
with it as well.
"As a listed public company, it is difficult to understand why Inmarsat
would continue to risk criminal prosecution, civil claims and reputational
damage as a sanctions evader for the very small commercial benefit supplying
telecommunications services to Iranian-controlled ships", continued
Darshan-Leitner and warning that if the company did not cease its dealings
with Iran the matter would be "pursued vigorously in all legal and political
forums."
In June 2011, Shurat HaDin brought legal action against Inmarsat for
continuing to support ships seeking to breach Israel's naval blockade of
Gaza. Shurat HaDin underlined that Inmarsat's services provided
communications to the Mavi Marmara and other ships that participated in the
Gaza Flotilla of May 2010. The case was filed in a Federal Court in Miami.
Contrary to claims made by the telecommunications company, Shurat HaDin
underlines that Inmarsat does not nor can it deny that it provided services
to the Turkish boats Mavi Marmara that was utilized by the Islamic
terrorists that sought to breach Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza in 2010
and 2011. In 2010, nine individuals were killed on the Turkish boat,
including one US citizen. In 2011, after Shurat HaDin filed its lawsuit
against Inmarsat in Federal Court in Miami, the Mavi Marmara announced it
was dropping out of the Flotilla because of technical problems.
In addition, unlike recent statements made by Inmarsat, their attorneys were
the ones that asked if Shurat HaDin would drop the lawsuit, as it was no
longer necessary. Shurat HaDin complied. This did not mean that Inmarsat was
not compliant in assisting the Gaza Flotilla boats that violated the US
Neutrality Act and other US laws.
Shurat HaDin's actions represent the latest example of the center’s
harnessing of American and international law to knock down the financial and
technological buttresses of terrorist regimes.
Shurat HaDin's August 2 Response Letter to Inmarsat:
http://tinyurl.com/d29wjsa
Inmarsat's July 30 Letter to Shurat HaDin:
http://tinyurl.com/cq9xzd3
Shurat HaDin's July 25 Warning Letter to Inmarsat:
http://tinyurl.com/bogxxb3
Selected List of Iranian-linked ships marked by US Treasury Dept:
http://tinyurl.com/bnesb7j
Documentation of Iranian-linked ships present on Inmarsat's ship directory:
http://tinyurl.com/cokl39o
Iran Economic Sanctions Summary Sheet:
http://tinyurl.com/cype3tt
Factsheet About Inmarsat:
http://tinyurl.com/bmnhju7
July 2012 US Treasury Department Iran Sanctions:
http://tinyurl.com/bu2fa3q
Previous Letter Sent On Flotilla:
http://tinyurl.com/d5fa9hs
About Us
Shurat HaDin—Israel Law Center is an Israeli based civil rights organization
and world leader in combating the terrorist organizations and the regimes
that support them through lawsuits litigated in courtrooms around the world.
Fighting for the rights of hundreds of terror victims, Shurat HaDin seeks to
bankrupt the terror groups and grind their criminal activities to a halt -
one lawsuit at a time. Established in 2003 and based in Tel-Aviv, Shurat
HaDin works together with western intelligence agencies and volunteer
lawyers around the world to file legal actions on behalf of victims of
terror. Shurat HaDin has succeeded in winning more than $1 billion in
judgments, freezing more than $600 million in terrorist assets and in
collecting $120 million in actual payments to the victims and their
families.
Its website: http://www.israellawcenter.org
For more information: (Tel Aviv, Israel) 972-3-751-4175, 972-52-383-7020
(cell), media@israellawcenter.org
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IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il
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