International company, Spar, revokes Iranian business license due to imposed sanctions

In a shocking revelation, Dutch supermarket giant Spar International and its Austrian licensee Blue River are under investigation for alleged breaches of sanctions in Iran. Hundreds of documents obtained by the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant reveal "dubious transactions" taking place via Spar Iran.

The investigation, which began a year ago, has uncovered "possible irregularities" and "a number of breaches of the licensing agreement". Spar International, headquartered in Amsterdam, claims to have over 14,000 stores in 48 countries, making it one of the biggest supermarket groups in the world.

The allegations centre around the shipping of various goods via the Spar license, including speaker phones, storage apparatus, and servers. These goods, as stated by the whistleblower, would normally be part of a data center. The whistleblower, who worked for the company for years, also claims that a daughter of a police officer with no business connection to Spar has been travelling to Europe via the Spar license.

The license for the Spar business in Iran, which was withdrawn by Spar International, was granted to Saveh Mashhad Company in 1995. The licence for Spar stores in Iran is owned by an Austrian company called Blue River. Blue River requested a permit to open Spar stores in Iran in 2017, and the first four opened in Teheran in 2020.

The withdrawal of the Spar license for Spar stores in Iran was due to allegations of breaches of the licensing agreement. No specific details were provided about the nature or extent of the alleged sanctions evasion. However, it is known that trade with all organizations connected to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is banned, except for food and medicine.

Interestingly, no information was previously given about any investigations into possible irregularities or breaches of the licensing agreement. It is also worth noting that no information was given about any legal actions taken or planned against Blue River or Spar International regarding these allegations.

The European Union has imposed sanctions on Iran, and Iranian banks are excluded from the international money processing system. It remains to be seen how this investigation will unfold and what consequences, if any, Spar International and Blue River will face. The Volkskrant has seen the documentary evidence, but the public is yet to be informed of the details.

This is a developing story and more information is expected to be released in the coming days. Stay tuned for updates.

International company, Spar, revokes Iranian business license due to imposed sanctions