Govt welcomes US sanctions against India-based duo over fraudulent use of Guyana’s flag to transport Iranian oil

India-based Suniel Kumar Sharma and his wife, Jaspreet Preeti Shahid, have been sanctioned by the United States for operating a maritime network accused of illegally using Guyana’s national flag to disguise vessels involved in transporting sanctioned oil.
According to the US Department of the Treasury, the couple’s schemes have provided false flags and certifications to sanctioned vessels involved in transporting Iranian petroleum, including vessels operating on behalf of the Iranian military and its proxies.
Guyanese authorities have welcomed the sanctions against the Indian duo, who have perpetuated maritime fraud against Guyana and several other nations.
In a statement on Thursday, the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) and the Public Utilities and Aviation Ministry said the couple’s operation has raised serious concerns over the integrity of Guyana’s ship registry and its potential implications for international maritime security.
“Sharma and Shahid are instrumental in managing a network that fraudulently represented vessels as being registered in Guyana through a company named the fraudulent International Maritime Safety Agency of Guyana (IMSAG), thereby facilitating the unauthorised use of the Guyana flag. Such fraudulent activities undermine the integrity of national ship registries and compromise maritime security,” the statement noted.
Nevertheless, the Guyana Government said it remains resolute in its efforts to detect, prevent, and eliminate the fraudulent use of its national flag. In fact, MARAD noted that this matter has been consistently raised at international and regional maritime and shipping forums as part of Guyana’s sustained advocacy for stronger cooperation and more effective measures to combat fraudulent vessel registration.
Only in July 2026, at the Global Maritime Security and Sanctions Enforcement Symposium hosted in Antigua and Barbuda, Public Utilities and Aviation Minister Deodat Indar had vowed to go after Captain Suniel Kumar as part of intensified efforts to crack down on fraudulent ship registries and defend the integrity of the Guyana flag.
At the time, Indar had presented a case study titled “Fraudulent Registration: Guyana’s Perspective”, highlighting the nature and implications of fraudulent registration and the measures being pursued by Guyana to address the problem.
The issue was again reinforced during the recently concluded 56th Annual General Meeting of the Caribbean Shipping Association, hosted in Guyana last month.
“Guyana remains committed to collaborating with international partners, maritime administrations, and relevant enforcement agencies to safeguard the integrity of its ship registry, uphold international maritime standards, and ensure that its national flag is not exploited to facilitate criminal activity or circumvent international sanctions,” MARAD declared in Friday’s missive.

False flagging
According to the US Treasury Department, the sanctions were imposed on Wednesday as part of Operation Economic Outcast (Economic D-Day) – an initiative launched in August by the Donald Trump Administration targeting those who continue to choose to do business with Iran.
The US Treasury said that Sharma and Shahid have supported Iran’s shadow fleet through web maritime fraud. Their schemes have provided false flags and certifications to sanctioned vessels involved in transporting Iranian petroleum, including vessels operating on behalf of the Iranian military and its proxies.
It noted that false flags and fake maritime certifications allow vessels engaging in illicit activity to evade international regulations aimed at ensuring crew safety and safeguarding against environmental harm. Further, falsely flagged vessels carry no valid protection and indemnity insurance, meaning that Iranian shadow fleet vessels operating under false flags could potentially cause billions of dollars in damages to the economies of the countries in whose territorial waters they operate, the Department stated.
Through their base in Chandigarh, India, the US Treasury said Sharma and Shahid defrauded maritime regulatory administrations in multiple jurisdictions, including Guyana, in order to establish false flagging authorities and maritime classification societies.
It was noted that Sharma and Shahid’s operations began as early as 2014, when the couple sought to impersonate the flagging authority of Dominica. The Department noted that while many of the duo’s false flagging registries are not tied to registered companies, Sharma’s network purchases web domains, creating websites that claim to offer a variety of services, such as flagging and certification, on behalf of a country that has not authorised it to provide any of those services.
Among these false representations are websites purporting to provide flagging services on behalf of Guyana, Aruba, Mali, Mozambique, Malawi, Sint Maarten, and Timor-Leste, among others. In fact, the US Treasury noted that due to press coverage exposing his activities, Sharma was forced to close down multiple deceitful registries, including the Maritime Safety Administration, previously known as the International Maritime Safety Agency of Guyana (IMSAG) – a company that served as a false flagging agency for Guyana.
Back in 2022, the Guyana Government, through MARAD, had distanced itself from IMSAG, declaring that the company was not authorised to conduct business on behalf of the country.
However, the Department of the Treasury said sanctioned shadow fleet vessels have since gravitated towards these fake registries despite widespread awareness that they are not endorsed by the relevant Governments.
This was demonstrated on April 22, 2026, when the US Department of War seized the false Guyana-flagged MAJESTIC X, formerly known as the PHONIX, which was carrying Iranian oil at the time of its boarding.
Moreover, the US Treasury said Sharma and Shahid also manage a network of primarily India-based entities, some of which are used to establish fraudulent flagging registries, through which they provided false flags to numerous sanctioned vessels that transport Iranian petroleum products.
The US has since sanctioned 10 entities and at least three other individuals for their direct or indirect support of the Iranian regime.
“As we have said many times, under Operation Economic Outcast, you are either with us or against us… We know where you are, and we will sanction those who continue supporting the Iranian regime, whether by land, sea, or air,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent warned on Wednesday.

Source: Guyana Times