Victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, assaults requested a U.S. decide to order the seizure of Iranian crude oil from a tanker owned by an American non-public fairness agency, to assist fulfill a $3.61 billion judgment in opposition to Iran over the assaults.
The request got here in filings on Thursday with the U.S. District Court docket in Manhattan.
Dozens of assault victims and their households mentioned the Suez Rajan, owned by Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Administration and idling in Southeast Asia, seemed to be carrying as much as 1 million barrels of Iranian oil, violating U.S. sanctions.
They mentioned the oil must be bought to assist cowl their February 2018 judgment in opposition to Iran over that nation’s offering materials help to al-Qaeda associated to the assaults. Iran has lengthy denied such claims.
Oaktree has about $166 billion of belongings underneath administration. Neither the agency nor its London-based Fleetscape unit, which funds the Suez Rajan, instantly responded on Friday to requests for remark.
The request got here after the nonprofit United Towards Nuclear Iran, which makes use of satellite tv for pc photographs to trace tanker motion, wrote Oaktree on Feb. 15 that the Suez Rajan appeared to have taken on the oil from one other tanker two days earlier.
Even when the oil have been seized, gross sales proceeds at present costs LCOc1 would cowl solely about 3% of the $3.61 billion judgment.
Victims mentioned about $3.44 billion is excellent, with the Nationwide Iranian Oil Co and Nationwide Iranian Tanker Corp, each underneath U.S. sanctions, among the many entities accountable to pay it.
Judgments in opposition to accused state sponsors of terrorism are sometimes unimaginable to implement.
On Feb. 18, Fleetscape mentioned the Suez Rajan was operated by Empire Navigation, and that it had no function working Empire’s fleet. It additionally mentioned it took accusations of U.S. sanctions violations critically. Read full story
Empire, based mostly in Athens, mentioned on Feb. 21 it was additionally investigating the matter. Read full story
Almost 3,000 individuals died on Sept. 11, 2001, when planes have been flown into New York’s World Commerce Heart, the Pentagon in northern Virginia, and a Pennsylvania subject.
The circumstances are Hoglan et al v Oaktree Capital Administration LP et al, U.S. District Court docket, Southern District of New York, No. 11-07550; and In re Terrorist Assaults on September 11, 2001 in the identical court docket, No. 03-md-01570.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Further reporting by Jonathan Saul in London; Enhancing by Jonathan Oatis)
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