Fishy Business: Exposing the Iranian Oil Brokers disguised as Fish Traders

From "salted fish" to oil smuggling: How a Dubai trading license meant for fish was used to conceal a multi-million-dollar Iranian crude exporting operation. WikIran is exposing oil broker Hamed Kachoee and the network he created to facilitate Iranian oil export.

In our previous articles, we examined some of the leading oil brokers in the HMS Trading database, Reza Dindar and Ali Bayandarian. Another prominent figure that shares similar characteristics is Hamed Kachoee.

Meet Hamed Kachoee: A Shadow Amongst the Shadows

Hamed Mohamed Bagher Kachoee (sometimes spelled Kachouei, Kachoei or Kachoie), born in 1976, is an Iranian National (Passport no. P96602177) and a UAE resident (ID no. 784197615250723). While he may not be as famous a sanctions-buster as his counterparts previously exposed on WikIran, his prominence is well established by the attention his front company, Unique Performance General Trading LLC, drew from the U.S. Treasury in 2023.

Dubai-based Unique Performance was designated for buying millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil from Sepehr Energy Jahan (SEJ), the oil trading front company of the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS) oil command Shahid Abolfathi, and delivering them to customers in China. Notably, Unique Performance’s commercial license clearly states that the company’s business is trading salted and preserved fish. Something sounds fishy, right?

Leaked documents from HMS Trading and PDECO reveal that Kachoee’s network engaged in trading oil and petroleum products and even carried out a joint venture to develop oil wells in Iran with Naftiran Intertrade Co., a Swiss-based subsidiary of the sanctioned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).

The document above presents a partnership agreement between HMS Trading, Tejarat Hermes Energy Qeshm and some of Kachoee's network's companies:

• Unique performance General Trading LLC

• Avantgarde Shipping PTE LTD – Singapore-based front company, managed by Turkish National Cetin Sasmaz (Turkish passport: U10320328).

• Avantgarde Petroleum FZE – UAE-based sister company of Avantgarde Shipping PTE LTD.

Kachoee himself serves as a guarantor in this contract, as he tends to do in transactions involving entities in his network. The cheques below are payments from Avantgarde to HMS at an accumulated value of approximately 300 million dollars. On the back of each cheque is a hand-written “personal guarantee” from Kachoee for its payment.

Marc Farshidi Nia: More Holes Than Swiss Cheese

The contract above also reveals Kachoee’s main accomplice, Marc Farshidi Nia. Farshidi Nia is a dual Swiss-Iranian National (Iranian Passport no. 17FV17475, Swiss passport no. X7671407) and UAE resident (ID no. 784196272054071), born in 1962 in Bostan Abad, Iran.

The purpose of the agreement mentioned above is to create a joint framework for the supply and delivery of petroleum, gas and petrochemical products. Within this framework, Unique Performance purchased oil from the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and maintained trade relations with its subsidiary (NICO).

Trouble In Front Paradise?

Bypassing sanctions is all fun and games, until it’s not. Over time, Unique Performance accumulated a rather large debt to HMS Trading, which led HMS to file a lawsuit (Commercial Case No. 900-2025) against Kachoee, Farshidi Nia, Unique Performance and other parties in their network in the UAE courts at the end of 2025. The plaintiff even demanded a travel ban from the UAE for Kachoee and his associates.

The case was dragged on for more than 6 months until the court ruled in favor of HMS in May 2026, ordering Unique Performance to pay the full amount of $66 million. The law firm that handled all legal matters on behalf of HMS is none other than Amer Al Marzooqi Advocates & Legal Consultants LLCl, belonging to Amer Al Marzooqi, a member of the Emirati family controlling HMS and its operations. How convenient.

However, this is not the end of this story as in June 2026 , Kachoee struck back. As it turns out, he filed an appeal the Dubai courts against the previous judgment. The first hearing was set to take place on July 6, 2026. The materials do NOT contain further information, so we wish both parties the best of luck and hopefully no one ends up sleeping with the fishes.

Kachoee's network is just another band of individuals closely linked to the Islamic regime, taking advantage of their position to gain lucrative access to Iran's oil trade. Hopefully, after this exposure, the rest of his network would be cut off international markets.