IRANIAN SOURCE NAMES "U.K.-REGISTERED" COMPANY AS

S E C R E T BAKU 000179 NOFORN E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/7/2019 TAGS: ETTC ETRD ENRG UE UK TU AJ IR SUBJECT: IRANIAN SOURCE NAMES "U.K.-REGISTERED" COMPANY AS IRAN SANCTIONS-BUSTER POSSIBLY SUPPORTING BUSHEIR PROJECT Classified By: POLECON COUNSELOR ROB GARVERICK, REASON 1.5 (B and D) ¶1. (S) A well-connected Iranian businessman who owns a Baku-based oil services company told Baku Iran watcher that a company called "INSULTEC," owned by UK citizens of Indian origin, has secretly provided cladding, thermal insulation, and ancillary equipment to the government of Iran in a variety of shipments via Turkey and the U.A.E. According to the Baku source, whose company operates in Russia, Kazakhstan, and the U.A.E. as well as Azerbaijan, the materials allegedly sent by INSULTEC in falsely labeled containers were of type that could be used in nuclear reactor construction. Citing old Iran and Dubai based business friends allegedly familiar with the issue, the source said that INSULTEC has maintained a sanctions-evading relationship with Iranian government companies for some time. Source said that the company was officially headquartered in the U.K., and has offices in Germany, the USA, and elsewhere, its manufacturing base and the bulk of its staff are in India. ¶2. (S) Perhaps more disturbingly, the source (who had just returned from ten days in Dubai) said that he had been informed by an Iranian friend who had collaborated in the activity that INSULTEC recently helped facilitate a shipment from the UAE to Iran consisting of twelve containers (possibly labeled "insulation") of unknown material that may not have actually originated with INSULTEC. The source sai he was told by his friend that the shipment went by ship to Bandar Abbas and was trucked immediately to a final destination in Busheir. The friend told source that another Iranian destination was falsely listed in the shipping documents, presumably to hide the actually intended destination of Busheir. ¶3. (S) The Baku businessman is a UK-educated engineer from a prominent Pre-Revolution Isfahan family, and formerly owned a large factory in Iran. He is a former national fencing champion of Iran. former President of the Iran Fencing Association, and Vice-President of an Azerbaijan sports association. He has been based in Baku for more than ten years, working primarily as a sub-contractor to BP and the Cape Industrial Services company. While his oil services company includes an insulation division that may be in competition with INSULTEC, source has provided "inside" information on many other Iranian issues (including comprehensive data on the status of new Iranian oil refinery construction) that does not relate to his private interests in any way. ¶4. (S) Note: A quick google check revealed several companies with the name INSULTEC in the title - these may or not be affiliated. Based on the information provided by source (currently in Iran, where he frequently travels),one possible candidate could be "INSULTEC Chitral Ltd." End Note. DERSE