Investigative website C4ADS has published a report saying that, thanks to commercially available satellite imagery, automatic identification system (AIS) data, and other publicly available information, it can offer insights into the illicit trade, detail how it is conducted, and even identify some of the likely players involved. It says that evidence suggests that China also sourced LPG from Iran – an illicit practice under US economic sanctions on Iranian oil.
In the diagram below, C4ADS says that, using a ship as a starting point, one can build out entity-level networks of actors involved in this illicit trade. C4ADS says that ongoing monitoring should be a priority for institutions that want to make this trade known or discover parties involved in it. Fully utilising publicly available sources of information and fusing data together from multiple disciplines and providers allows us and others to peel back the layers of even elaborate efforts to evade sanctions.
https://c4ads.org/blogposts/2020/4/21/hull-in-their-story
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