EU Puts NITC Back on Sanctions List despite Earlier Court Ruling
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The European Union on Thursday re-imposed sanctions against the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC).
An EU working group decided to add the NITC to the sanctions list again even though an EU high court had ruled last year against blacklisting the company.
The EU’s second-highest court ruled in July 2014 that there were no grounds to blacklist the NITC after it contested the designation.
The regulation will be published in the EU's Official Journal on Saturday, Reuters reported.
The EU has also decided to re-impose sanctions on Iranian businessman Gholam Golparvar.
The General Court had annulled sanctions against him and some other Iranian businessmen in December 2013, saying the listings were legally faulty.
In 2012, the EU imposed sanctions on Iranian companies and entities over allegations that they have a role in the development of Iran’s nuclear program and circumvented US-led illegal sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Several of these sanctions have been scrapped by top EU courts. In late 2014, the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice annulled restrictions imposed by the EU against the Central Bank of Iran (CBI).
Last month, the General Court struck down the illegal sanctions that the 28 members of the European bloc had imposed against Iran’s Bank Tejarat.
The court said the EU has not presented any justification for freezing the assets and economic resources of the Iranian bank.
The court, in a separate ruling, also annulled the bans on Ocean Capital Administration, an Iranian shipping line, and a number of other companies linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).
