US seeks to seize suspected Iranian oil aboard Greek-managed tanker

The United States has filed a lawsuit to seize a cargo of oil it says came from Iran rather than Iraq, as stated on the bill of lading, and contravenes US terrorism regulations.

The lawsuit filed with the US District of Colombia on Tuesday alleges that Iran sought to mask the origin of the oil by transferring it to several vessels before it ended up aboard the Liberian-flagged Achilleas tanker destined for China.

"Participants in the scheme attempted to disguise the origin of the oil using ship-to-ship transfers, falsified documents, and other means, and provided a fraudulent bill of lading to deceive the owners of the Achilleas into loading the oil in question," the Department of Justice said in a statement.

It said the Achilleas tanker was subject to seizure based on US terrorism forfeiture laws.

The move to seize the cargo followed an...