Oil Rigs Shipped To Serbs In Violation Of Sanctions

Two oil rigs have been shipped from Iran en route to Serbia in violation of the United Nations sanctions against Belgrade, Western officials say.

The shipment was discovered by the CIA after it left Iran, officials said, and now the United States is trying to prevent the contraband from reaching its destination.

Apparently in an attempt to disguise the identity of the intended recipient in Serbia, which would use the equipment for its war machine, the original documents for the transaction described the contents in the ship’s hold as oil-drilling equipment destined for Bulgaria, then Russia. The oil rigs had belonged to a Canadian company owned by a Serbian immigrant.

The documents were later altered to say the rigs were hydrological research equipment, destined for Macedonia, according to officials from several countries, who have seen the documents and are tracking the equipment. Western officials said similar shipments were planned if this one was successful.

“It is a particularly egregious example of a broader problem,” said a Western diplomat who follows sanctions closely.

The broader problem, officials said, is that the sanctions have developed a huge leak in the southern Balkans, and traders and the Serbs are using so many false fronts that governments are finding it hard to stem the flow.