Dutch supermarket chain Spar's Iranian operation has been implicated in an elaborate sanctions evasion scheme involving members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a Dutch newspaper reported on December 23.

The information leak comes from hundreds of internal documents reviewed by de Volkskrant newspaper, forcing the parent company to cut ties with the franchise.

The investigation reveals that Spar's Iranian licence, managed by Austrian company Blue River, was used to facilitate dubious transactions and arrange European visas for individuals connected to the Iranian regime. Spar International has now terminated the Iranian licence following media inquiries, the Dutch paper states.

The scheme's scope became apparent long after Dutch Ambassador Frank Mollen's highly publicised August 2022 visit to a Spar store in Tehran, where he praised the company's expansion into Iran despite Western sanctions. At the time, Spar operated four stores in the Iranian capital.

Documents show Blue River, which secured Spar's Iranian licence in 2017 (before new US sanctions were levied), ordered substantial quantities of Western technology that “exceeded normal supermarket requirements,” including HP servers typically used in data centres.

In one incident, the son of a former Revolutionary Guard commander approached Blue River about procuring 1,000 computer servers worth €150mn for Iranian telecoms providers and banks. While Blue River registered as a Fujitsu equipment importer, the deal apparently did not proceed.

The company also attempted to establish a payment system called Spar-Pay (later S-Pay) that could potentially circumvent banking sanctions.

While marketed as a voucher system for Iranian expatriates to support families at home, internal documents reveal plans to enable cash withdrawals through Iranian banks.

A whistleblower alerted Spar International to these activities in October 2023, but the company initially dismissed the concerns as a management dispute.

Only after media inquiries did Spar International acknowledge hiring consultants to investigate and subsequently terminate the Iranian licence.

Spar International, headquartered in Amsterdam, maintains limited oversight of its licence holders despite operating 14,000 stores across 48 countries.

“Although the subsequent investigation did not reveal any violations of sanctions or persons of interest in international sanctions databases, it did identify potential irregularities that required clarification,” the company said in a response to the newspaper.

 “Subsequently, a number of violations of the license agreement were discovered. As a result, Spar International has terminated the license agreement with Blue River Retail for Iran.”

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it only recently learned of the misconduct but declined to comment on specific cases, noting that companies operating in Iran are routinely warned about applicable sanctions regulations.

Several other large European brands continue to operate in the Iranian market including Carrefour with its licensed Hyperstar brand. American brands, including Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and others, continue to operate in Iran with local subsidiaries or through third parties, local sources told IntelliNews.