Amazon Could Face Penalties for Iranian Business Ties
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Amazon.com, American electronic commerce and cloud computing company, said it sold and delivered goods to certain Iranian individuals and entities covered by US sanctions.
The company said in a regulatory filing that from 2012 to 2016 it “processed and delivered orders of consumer products for certain individuals and entities located outside Iran covered by the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act (ITRA)”, Bloomberg reported.
Amazon said it had reported the transactions to the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security. It said it will cooperate with a review by the agencies, and added that this could result in “penalties”.
Amazon said the goods sold included a range of products, from pet food to software and cost $50 to about $2,400. The internet retail giant further said it does not plan to sell to these accounts in the future.
In 2012, former US President Barack Obama signed the ITRA to strengthen trade restrictions on Iran over its peaceful nuclear activities.