P 061232Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAKU
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0872
INFO IRAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PIORITY
AMCONSUL ISTANBUL PRIORITY 012
CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
S E C R E T BAKU 000179
NOFORN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/7/2019
TAGS: ETTC ETRD ENRG UE UK TU AJ IR
SUBJECT: IRANIAN SOURCE NAMES "U.K.-REGISTERED" COMPANY AS
IRAN SANCTIONS-BUSTER POSSIBLY SUPPORTING BUSHEIR PROJECT
Classified By: POLECON COUNSELOR ROB GARVERICK, REASON 1.5 (B and D)
¶1. (S) A well-connected Iranian businessman who owns a
Baku-based oil services company told Baku Iran watcher that a
company called "INSULTEC," owned by UK citizens of Indian
origin, has secretly provided cladding, thermal insulation,
and ancillary equipment to the government of Iran in a
variety of shipments via Turkey and the U.A.E. According to
the Baku source, whose company operates in Russia,
Kazakhstan, and the U.A.E. as well as Azerbaijan, the
materials allegedly sent by INSULTEC in falsely labeled
containers were of type that could be used in nuclear reactor
construction. Citing old Iran and Dubai based business
friends allegedly familiar with the issue, the source said
that INSULTEC has maintained a sanctions-evading relationship
with Iranian government companies for some time. Source said
that the company was officially headquartered in the U.K.,
and has offices in Germany, the USA, and elsewhere, its
manufacturing base and the bulk of its staff are in India.
¶2. (S) Perhaps more disturbingly, the source (who had just
returned from ten days in Dubai) said that he had been
informed by an Iranian friend who had collaborated in the
activity that INSULTEC recently helped facilitate a shipment
from the UAE to Iran consisting of twelve containers
(possibly labeled "insulation") of unknown material that may
not have actually originated with INSULTEC. The source sai
he was told by his friend that the shipment went by ship to
Bandar Abbas and was trucked immediately to a final
destination in Busheir. The friend told source that another
Iranian destination was falsely listed in the shipping
documents, presumably to hide the actually intended
destination of Busheir.
¶3. (S) The Baku businessman is a UK-educated engineer from a
prominent Pre-Revolution Isfahan family, and formerly owned a
large factory in Iran. He is a former national fencing
champion of Iran. former President of the Iran Fencing
Association, and Vice-President of an Azerbaijan sports
association. He has been based in Baku for more than ten
years, working primarily as a sub-contractor to BP and the
Cape Industrial Services company. While his oil services
company includes an insulation division that may be in
competition with INSULTEC, source has provided "inside"
information on many other Iranian issues (including
comprehensive data on the status of new Iranian oil refinery
construction) that does not relate to his private interests
in any way.
¶4. (S) Note: A quick google check revealed several companies
with the name INSULTEC in the title - these may or not be
affiliated. Based on the information provided by source
(currently in Iran, where he frequently travels), one
possible candidate could be "INSULTEC Chitral Ltd." End
Note.
DERSE
http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/cable/2009/03/09BAKU179.html
