US sanctions 2 Indian nationals over ‘role’ in Iran war
NEW DELHI: An Indian national and a Chhattisgarh-based explosives manufacturer are among eight individuals and entities sanctioned by the United States for their alleged involvement in procurement and recruitment networks that Washington says have fuelled Sudan’s civil war.The US department of the treasury’s office of foreign assets control (OFAC) identified the Indian national as Alok Choudhari, chief executive officer of Raipur-based SBL Energy Limited, and designated both him and the company under its latest sanctions package.According to the treasury department, SBL Energy supplied explosives and explosives-related materiel to Sudan-based Target Multiactivities Company Ltd. (TMAC), a company controlled by Sudan’s defence industries system through the Giad Industrial Group, both of which had previously been sanctioned by the United States.The treasury alleged that the explosives supplied by SBL Energy were subsequently used in bombs deployed by the Sudanese Armed Forces.”With senior DIS officer Tariq Hussain Muhammad Madani (Madani) serving as managing director, TMAC has imported explosives and related material into Sudan from Egyptian and Indian companies, including India-based explosives manufacturer, SBL Energy Limited (SBL). These explosives are subsequently used in bombs deployed by the SAF. SBL, whose chief executive officer is Indian national Alok Choudhari (Choudhari), has supplied TMAC with over 200 shipments of explosives and explosives-related materiel since 2024,” it said in a statement.Following the announcement, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration remained committed to advancing peace in Sudan. “The networks profiting from the conflict in Sudan jeopardise the prospects for the humanitarian truce that the Sudanese people desperately need,” Bessent said.The States also called on the SAF and the RSF to accept an immediate, unconditional three-month humanitarian truce and urged external actors to cease all financial and military support to the warring parties. Under the sanctions, all property and interests in property belonging to the designated individuals and entities that are in the United States or under the control of US persons are blocked, while US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving them.
