The United States has sanctioned Karnakis and Karnakis, a law firm based in Greece and Panama, accusing it of helping create companies used to transport Iranian oil and other commodities.
The Treasury Department announced the measures on Oct. 21, naming the firm among businesses it alleges supported Iran’s sanctions-evasion networks. Its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, also disclosed an investigation into a Greek bank’s possible links to Iran and its proxies.
Treasury did not identify the bank. An investigation into possible connections does not establish wrongdoing.
A law firm and shipping companies
According to Treasury, Karnakis and Karnakis registered companies that owned vessels carrying Iranian petroleum, petrochemicals and steel. The department said the firm also acted as a corporate agent for businesses connected to Iranian liquefied petroleum gas trader Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh.
The official sanctions list records offices for the law firm in Panama City and Piraeus, Greece’s main port. It names five individuals linked to the firm, as well as Roxette Maritime Shipping and Trading S.A., which also has a Piraeus address.
Seven Panama-flagged cargo vessels linked to Roxette appear on the same list. The action also covers shipping agents based in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.
A deadline for winding down transactions
Alongside the designations, the Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a limited authorization for winding down transactions involving Karnakis and Karnakis. General License GG permits qualifying transactions through 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Nov. 20, 2026, with payments to blocked persons placed in blocked accounts.
A separate license covers specified vessels and companies, including Roxette. It allows certain safety, emergency-repair and environmental work during the wind-down period. It also permits offloading some non-Iranian cargo loaded by Oct. 21, subject to conditions.
Those exceptions do not provide unrestricted permission for new business. General License HH excludes new commercial contracts except where its limited authorization applies.
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