Myanmar Paid $15.8 Million for Iranian Jet Fuel Listed as Diesel

Myanmar’s foreign exchange regulator formally approved paperwork that described a shipment of Iranian jet fuel as diesel, allowing a $15.8 million payment to clear sanctions controls. The transaction involved 113,000 barrels delivered in December 2025 by the tanker Reef, a vessel subject to US sanctions.

Dynamic Wave, an energy broker based in Myanmar, signed the contract with Thailand’s Tawan-Oil Trading. The agreement specified the import of South African diesel. However, data from the United Nations and Vortexa showed no record of South African diesel moving to Myanmar in 2025. Satellite tracking by SynMax Intelligence placed the Reef in the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas before its journey to Southeast Asia.

The relabeling was necessary to bypass US sanctions imposed on Myanmar’s jet-fuel sector in 2023. Washington targeted the industry after the military bombed civilian areas during its fight against rebels. Broad American sanctions also apply to buyers of Iranian oil products.

A letter dated November 30 from the foreign exchange regulator instructed that import documents list the cargo as diesel instead of jet fuel. The letter authorized payments from the client, National Energy Prime Aviation Services Company, which is partly owned by the military-backed government. Activist group Justice for Myanmar obtained the file from a junta-run server that was briefly accessible to the public.

The December delivery followed a similar pattern in May 2025. Dynamic Wave agreed to purchase 202,000 barrels of alleged South African diesel from Tawan for $26 million. Expert Joshua Heyne noted that the fuel density on the invoice matched jet fuel, and the price exceeded global diesel benchmarks by more than 50 percent. The tanker Noble delivered the cargo to Yangon in June.

Payments for the December shipment were directed to Siam Commercial Bank in Thailand. A 2024 UN report identified the bank as a key facilitator for military procurement. The bank maintains that its transactions followed anti-money-laundering laws. Neither the bank, Tawan, nor Myanmar’s foreign ministry responded to requests for comment on the mismatched documents.