UANI Statement on Sinosure’s Role in Facilitating Iran Sanctions Evasion

(New York, NY)— United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) today responded to a major investigative report published by The Wall Street Journal detailing how the Chinese state-owned export credit agency, Sinosure, is enabling the Iranian regime to circumvent U.S. sanctions and profit from illicit oil sales.

The article, “How China Secretly Pays Iran for Oil and Avoids U.S. Sanctions”, reveals a shadowy financial mechanism backed by Sinosure that shields Chinese refiners from the risks of violating U.S. sanctions, while allowing Iran to accrue billions in hard currency through opaque intermediary accounts. UANI CEO Amb. Mark D. Wallace said:

“The evidence presented by the Wall Street Journal confirms what UANI has long warned: that Chinese state institutions, and Sinosure in particular, are playing a central role in helping the Iranian regime defy international sanctions, fund terrorism, and suppress its own people. It is unacceptable that a member of the international export credit community is underwriting one of the most dangerous regimes in the world. All entities must be highly cognizant of onerous U.S. secondary sanctions that may be imposed in jurisdictions even outside the U.S.”

Sinosure’s involvement is especially alarming given its continued membership in the Berne Union, the global association of export credit and investment insurers. The Berne Union promotes responsible underwriting and financial integrity among its members. Sinosure’s conduct directly contradicts these principles and undermines the credibility of the institution as a whole.

UANI has a long history of engaging with more than a dozen often state-backed export credit agencies (ECAs) and urging them to refrain from underwriting Iranian business, starting in 2016. They include Germany’s Euler Hermes (now known as Allianz Trade), SACE (Italy), Coface (France), SERV (Switzerland), OeKB (Austria), K-Sure (South Korea), Finnvera (Finland), and NEXI (Japan). UANI has advocated for high standards of due diligence, compliance, and risk-based underwriting in global trade finance to ensure that export credit is not misused to support sanctioned or malign actors.

In light of the new revelations, UANI formally sent a letter yesterday to Berne Union General Secretary Paul Heaney, urging an immediate review of Sinosure’s activities, a public clarification of the Union’s standards, and appropriate accountability measures for non-compliant members.

“The Berne Union must not allow its name and credibility to be used as cover by entities that aid Iran’s oil trade and help it bypass sanctions,” Wallace added. “We are calling on the Berne Union and its members to investigate Sinosure’s conduct, uphold their own stated values, and take swift action.”

UANI continues to monitor and expose the global networks sustaining Iran’s oil sector and sanctions evasion schemes and calls on regulators, financial institutions, and allied governments to hold complicit actors accountable. 

To view UANI’s letter to Sinosure, click here.