Oops! He did it Again: Nepo-baby Ehsan Tahayyori’s Unsuccessful Dealings with Bank Shahr’s Sanctions Evasion Network

Ehsan Tahayyori, previously exposed for running one of Iran's largest exchange houses, leveraged aliases and front companies to pivot into the shipping industry through HMS Trading, only to see his venture collapse amid failed joint ventures and mortgage defaults, leaving a trail of shell companies that continue to operate.

Ehsan Tahayyori and his exchange house were widely exposed on WikIran back in 2022. Yet, some professional sanctions evaders won’t quit. Ehsan Tahayyori is the owner of Arz-Iran, also known as Tahayyori Guarantee Society, an exchange house that used to be one of Iran’s largest and used to funnel billions of USD each year, much of which originated from petroleum and petrochemical sales abroad.

Tahayyori, son of late IRGC commander Shamsali Tahayyori, grew up in a wealthy family in Lavasan province, Teheran, surrounded by luxurious cars and private jets. Following his father’s death, Tahayyori jr. worked hard to grow the family fortune through his exchange house, laundering money for the regime and violating international sanctions.

Legal trouble is also not new to Tahayyori. He was questioned and arrested multiple times in Iran in connection to bribery and fraud. After his exchange house sustained extensive damage, all of his information became public knowledge and his business was severely harmed, he allegedly fled to the UAE, with the help of Iranian Intelligence Ministry. Later, public information shows that Tahayyori was arrested in the UAE during the reginal war in March 2026, alongside Mansour Zarrin Ghalam, a fellow sanctioned money exchanger, and some reports claim that he remains in custody to this day.

New materials show that Iranians national Tahayyori (Passport no. U96426320(, who was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in May 2026, holds another identity: Ehsan Tahayyori is also Turkish National Serdar Sananci, an alias he most likely utilizes in order to continue his sanction-bypassing activities.

The new HMS database indicates that Tahayyori has recently pivoted to the shipping industry by cooperating with HMS Trading and PDECO, Bank Shahr’s sanctions evasion networks.

According to PDECO’s documents, HMS Trading gained ownership of three tankers: MT LEA I (IMO: 9277759), MT ELISE (IMO: 9277747) and MT JUNIA (IMO: 9293155). But the process was rather bumpy for Shahr’s network. The first two tankers were initially purchased by an HMS front, Marshall Islands-based Silver Coast Inc, formally owned by HMS’ Managing Director Omar Mohammad Zubaeer Mohammad Al Marzooqi.

They were then lent as mortgaged vessels to Marshall Islands-based companies Optima Inc. and Virgo Inc., respectively. The financing and guaranteeing involved a few UAE-based front companies, as well as Ehsan Tahayyori's own personal guarantee. Although evidence for the process of purchasing MT JUNIA wasn't found, a formal letter issued by PDECO indicates that all three vessels were purchased and lent as mortgaged vessels to Tahayyori's network, perhaps as a failed joint venture, only to be surrendered later:

Contracts for the "sale" (surrender) of both LEA I and ELISE, After Tahayyori's fronts failed to repay their mortgages, show that Tahayyori’s signed a “Bearer Bond”, in which he personally guaranteed payments for the mortgaged vessel LEA 1:

The documents relating to the purchase and mortgaging of the three tankers shed light on some of Tahayyori's newer front network:

Tahayyori's failed shipping venture and ongoing legal troubles illustrate a broader pattern among sanctions evaders: They adapt, shifting tactics, acquiring new identities and continuously rebuilding their web of front companies. This resilience makes clear that sanctions alone are insufficient. A coordinated international response is essential for disrupting the pipelines that keep Iran's sanctions-generating enterprises alive.