OFAC Targets Russia-Houthi Grain Smuggling Ship

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated multiple entities and individuals involved in a maritime smuggling operation that transported stolen Ukrainian grain and weapons from Russia to Yemen.

At the center of the operation is the Russia-flagged vessel AM THESEUS (IMO: 9720263), also known as ZAFAR, which conducted at least two shipments of stolen Ukrainian grain from Crimea to Yemen during summer and fall 2024.

The vessel’s Hong Kong-based owner and operator, AM Asia M6 Ltd, has been designated for sanctions along with two Russian nationals who served as the vessel’s captains – Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Vidanov and Yuri Vladimirovich Belyakov.

“The Houthis remain reliant on Sa’id al-Jamal and his network to procure critical goods to supply the group’s terrorist war machine,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

The sanctions come amid escalating tensions in the Red Sea, where Houthi forces have deployed missiles and drones to attack commercial shipping, resulting in civilian casualties and millions in damages to vessels.

The network involved Russia-based Afghan businessmen Hushang and Sohrab Ghairat, who coordinated with Sa’id al-Jamal, a senior Houthi financial official previously designated for supporting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF).

As a result of these action, all U.S.-based assets of the designated individuals and entities are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from conducting transactions with them. The sanctions extend to any entities owned 50 percent or more by blocked persons.

The designations highlight the growing complexity of maritime sanctions enforcement and the continued use of commercial shipping for sanctions evasion schemes.

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