Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Iran’s former national security chief, used citizenship-by-investment programs to gain access to the international banking system, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
Shamkhani and his associates secured Dominican passports, later using them to obtain passports from European Union countries like Malta and Cyprus, allowing them to bypass compliance checks from major global financial institutions.
These moves helped his empire gain acceptance from Wall Street banks and Western oil majors, despite his alleged involvement in Iran’s arms dealings with Russia.
Shamkhani’s efforts to keep his business dealings confidential allowed him to build relationships with key global financial figures across hubs like Dubai, Geneva, and London.
Bloomberg’s investigation, based on interviews with more than four dozen people familiar with his network, also highlighted his lobbying efforts in Washington to influence US policy and avoid sanctions enforcement.
