Zhenyu Wang, 43, a Chinese citizen, and Daniel Ray Lane, 42, of McKinney, Texas, were sentenced to 45 months in prison on Tuesday for their roles in a scheme to evade U.S. economic sanctions against Iran by facilitating the purchase and sale of Iranian petroleum to a refinery in China. The two men were convicted by a U.S. jury in November of conspiracy to commit money laundering and attempting to sell Iranian oil in violation of Washington-imposed sanctions.
According to the Justice Department, Wang and Lane, along with their co-conspirators, orchestrated the scheme from July 2019 to February 2020. They sought to purchase sanctioned oil from Iran, mask its origins, and then sell it to a Chinese refinery, effectively circumventing U.S. sanctions.
Lane, the president of Texas-based Stack Royalties, a company that sells oil and gas mineral rights to investment funds and private equity groups, had previously been accused by his attorney, Paul Hetznecker, of being enticed by undercover government agents who offered him “millions of dollars in profits” to participate in the scheme after initially refusing their approaches. Hetznecker had called the case “an outrageous example of government overreach.”
The pair, along with three others, were charged in 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Court records indicate that at least two of their co-conspirators have since pleaded guilty.
China remains the world’s only major importer of Iranian oil, despite the sanctions that former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally reimposed on Tehran’s petroleum exports in 2018 after withdrawing the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers.
The sentencing of Wang and Lane serves as a reminder of the U.S. government’s commitment to enforcing economic sanctions against Iran and the consequences faced by those who attempt to violate them. The case also highlights the complex geopolitical issues surrounding Iran’s oil exports and the ongoing tensions between the United States, Iran, and China.
Credit: Reuters