The Pakistani owner of an arms supplier and his companies have been placed under sanctions by the US for allegedly providing weapons to Iran.
Waseem Pasha Tajammal and his Cavalier Group are accused of acting as "third-party intermediaries" to “procure and distribute weapons” for Iran’s Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (Modafl), the US Treasury said.
The 58-year-old runs the Pakistani company Cavalier Dynamics Private Limited, of which he is the majority shareholder and chief executive. It has Saudi Arabian and Turkish subsidiaries named Cavalier Dynamics for Technologies Company and Cavalier Dynamics Teknoloji Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, respectively. Mr Tajammal is also the owner and director of a UK company, which is not under sanctions.
According to the US, Mr Tajammal has been placed under sanctions for allegedly “having provided, or attempted to provide, financial, material, technological or other support for, or goods or services in support of, Modafl”.
The three companies are sanctioned for “being owned or controlled by, or acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly” by Mr Tajammal, said the US Treasury. Cavalier Dynamics for Technologies Company is jointly sanctioned by the US and Saudi Arabia.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the sanctions imposed on Mr Tajammal are part of Operation Economic Outcast, which aims to “disrupt those who provide material, technological, or financial support that allows the Iranian regime to sustain its terrorist enterprise”.
“The Treasury will not tolerate any support to the regime and will continue to identify, expose and isolate Iran’s enablers,” he said.
Modafl is responsible for weapons research, production and acquisition for Iran’s armed forces. It also oversees organisations engaged in the development of Iran’s ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Mr Tajammal is one of 10 people and entities placed under new sanctions for allegedly procuring weapons and their components for Modafl. They include the Modafl representative in Beijing, Seyyed Asghar Alizadeh Tabatabai, who the US claims “co-ordinates the procurement of finished weapons systems and dual-use components in China on Iran’s behalf”.
Also sanctioned is the Kavoshcom Asia R and D Group, which has procured parts for Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company. The company specialises in the development of drones and military aircraft for Modafl.
Kavoshcom has also supplied electronics to Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group, a subordinate of Modafl's Aerospace Industries Organisation, which is responsible for Iran’s ballistic missile programme. The US Treasury also designated Kavoshcom director Ali Fotowat Ahmady and representative Parisa Lali, who has been involved in the company’s procurement.
A Hong Kong company, EC Mojo Technology Co Limited, and its China-based representative, Li Fen, are sanctioned for allegedly supporting Kavoshcom's procurement operations.
Records at the UK’s Companies House show that Mr Tajammal also owns a business named Toughtac Protection Ltd, which was set up in 2017. He is listed as being a resident of Pakistan, but records for a now-dissolved company he previously owned, AA Flowmatic Engineering Ltd, showed his residency at the time to be the UK.
Toughtac Protection Ltd's accounts show that it was set up with £100 of share capital and the nature of its business is described as “non-specialised wholesale trade, business and domestic software development. Information technology consultancy activities.”
The company appears not to have done any trading and lists its assets at £100 throughout its filing history. It is now listed as being dormant, which, according to Companies House, means there have been no "significant" transactions in the financial year.
The address given is a business park in a small town in the county of Warwickshire, between London and Birmingham. Being a listed company would, however, allow it to open a bank account in its name in the UK.
Mr Tajammal has been approached for comment.
