Uncovering the Dutch company's role in Iran's sanctions bypassing

Gemini Group of Companies Holding B.V., a Netherlands-based company, is owned and managed by Nicolaas (Niek) Johannes Tersteeg, a Dutch national with extensive experience in the energy sector.

The leaked documents of Sepehr Energy Jahan (SEJ) reveal extensive correspondence between Gemini and SEJ, as it was recently exposed by Iran International

Gemini's organizational chart reveals its complex business structure and affiliations:

In a striking admission, Gemini's CEO, Niek Tersteeg, has acknowledged his long-standing tier to Iranian petroleum firms, including the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and the late Iranian Oil Minister, Rostam Ghasemi, who was also affiliated with Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force (IRGC-QF).

Niek addresses his acquaintance with Iran’s late Minister of Petroleum and IRGC-Quds Force petroleum expert, Rostam Ghasemi: “His Excellency Mr. Rostam Qasemi, Minister of Petroleum, who gave me as a present the Golden Book of Iran in Farsi and English, which now has a special place at my home office”

Tersteeg's connections to Iran have not gone unnoticed, and he claims to be arrested by the Dutch Secret Service in 2013, at the behest of the U.S. Government. As he says in his own words: "I myself was in put jail in 2013 by the Dutch secret service for my trading activities with your beautiful country on special, urgent request of the USA Government. They didn’t break me. I kept my mouth shut. After several days the Dutch secret service and Dutch Government found out that I did nothing wrong and they released me from prison with written apologies."

Despite this ordeal, Tersteeg has continued to pursue dealings with Iranian oil, and has even managed to secure banking services from a major Netherlands-based bank - ING.

The SEJ documents reveal that Gemini, represented by Tersteeg, was fully aware of the nature of the deals it was seeking to fulfill with the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS), the owner of the SEJ network. Both the formal invoice issued by SEJ’s Chinese front, Xin Rui Ji Trad Co. Limited, and the purchase agreement, bore SEJ’s contact information, and Niek had direct correspondence with Elyas Niroomand and Majid Azami, both of whom have been designated by U.S. authorities for their role of trading Iranian petroleum of behalf of the AFGS.

For more information about SEJ’s front companies network, click here

To avoid potential complications and risks, Gemini chose to use Chinese financial institution Zhejiang Chouzhou Commercial Bank instead of international banking giant ING bank, to facilitate it payments for Iranian oil shipments to China.

A crucial aspect of the deal involved the issuance of a "Letter of Guarantee for Payment" by both Gemini to SEJ (Xin Rui Ji) and by the Chinese "exit buyer", a company named Suifenhe (City) Tonglida Trading Co. Limited, to Gemini. These letters are directly related to the petroleum cargo that was on board the MT DUPLIC DYNAMIC around October 10th, 2023.

WikIran urges all relevant parties to sever ties with dangerous Gemini Group of Companies Holding B.V. and its Iranian petroleum trading counterparts. These companies have knowingly or unknowingly contributed to funding Iran's AFGS, an entity deeply embroiled in proliferation and terrorism worldwide. Any business dealings with these companies pose a significant legal and US sanctions-related risks.