US sanctions Indian company, seven others for Iran energy dealings

New Delhi: The US has imposed sanctions on Mumbai-based petrochemical trading company Tibalaji Petrochem Pvt Ltd, the first such action against an Indian company for dealing with Iran.

The US Treasury Department said the company "purchased millions of dollars worth" of petrochemical products from Iran for "onward shipment to China".

It claimed that Tibalaji bought "petrochemical products, including methanol and base oil, for onward shipment to China" through deals brokered by Triliance Petrochemical Co Ltd Network, which had been sanctioned earlier.

The company is one of eight entities sanctioned by the US in the latest round. The others are located in the UAE, Hong Kong and China.

While India is yet to react, the government here is believed to be closely studying the US move. People familiar with the matter termed the timing of the US decision a "matter of concern".

The sanctions came shortly after external affairs minister S Jaishankar wrapped up his visit to Washington where he met several top officials, including secretary of state Antony Blinken, secretary of defence Lloyd Austin, secretary of commerce Gina M Raimondo and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

When asked by a reporter at a briefing if the Iran sanctions came up in Jaishankar's meeting with Blinken, state department deputy spokesperson Dev Patel said they had nothing beyond what they had said at their news conference.

India has been ramping up its ties with Iran in recent months with focus on connectivity via the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the Chabahar Port. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Samarkand recently to push connectivity links.

India has abided by the sanctions imposed by the US on Tehran and its companies have refrained from importing petroleum products from Iran.

According to ROC filings, as of March 2021, Tibalaji clocked a turnover of '597.26 crore. As of March 2022, it holds free reserves of '4.17 crore and has a net worth of '4.18 crore. The company was originally formed as Tiba Petrochemical in August 2018 to trade in petrochemical products and subsequently changed its name to Tibalaji Petrochemical in March 2020.

This January, the company passed a resolution to trade in agricultural products such as grains, nuts, spices, etc., in addition to its existing business in petrochemical products. As of June 2022, its authorized share capital is '10 lakh and its paid-up capital is '1 lakh. It has two directors on board including Harshad C Mande and Ashutosh Vijay Talloo.