This defendant put American sailors’ and Coast Guardsmen’s lives at risk while attempting to evade U.S. sanctions and move illicit oil. By refusing lawful orders from the U.S. Coast Guard and leading them on a chase across the Atlantic Ocean, he not only obstructed federal law enforcement, but forced our service members to carry out a dangerous boarding operation in heavy seas.
Today’s guilty plea makes clear that those who endanger American service members and attempt to undermine our sanctions laws will be held fully accountable.
Avtandil Kalandadze, 47, the former ship master of a shadow fleet tanker that historically transported Iran- and Venezuela-origin oil for the ultimate benefit of U.S. adversaries, pleaded guilty today for refusing to obey orders from the U.S. Coast Guard during a multi-week pursuit from the Caribbean Sea through to the North Atlantic Ocean, announced
@USAttyPirro.
justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/maste…