Two Texas men have been sentenced for attempting to sell Iranian oil to China as part of a large money laundering scheme.
Third party financiers, offshore bank accounts and Antiguan passports were all a part of two men’s plan to evade U.S. sanctions, according to reporting from the Dallas Morning News.
Zhenyu Wang and Daniel Ray Lane allegedly violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act while attempting to strike an oil deal.
Wang, a Chinese citizen and former resident of The Colony, arranged communications with Chinese customers while Lane, a McKinney resident, laundered the proceeds from the Iranian oil deal through his Dallas-based oil and gas mineral company Stack Royalties.
The scheme was intended to culminate in 1 to 2 million oil barrels being sold to China monthly.
Had the FBI not been tipped off, Wang, Lane and Iran would have made millions in the deal.
Wang and Lane each were sentenced to 45 months in prison. Their co-conspirators were also sentenced. Nicholas Hovan of New York received one year, while Texans Nicholas Fuchs and Robert Thwaites received 10 month sentences.
