Engineers & Planners Company Ltd.

"Representatives of Italian oil and gas company Eni met recently with the Iranian oil minister to discuss a series of issues including contractual arrears, an Eni spokeswoman confirmed on Monday. Iranian news agency Tasnim cited the managing director of Iran's Petroleum Engineering and Development Company on Monday as saying Eni had held talks with minister Bijan Zanganeh 'a few days ago'. Eni, which stopped investing in Iran in 2001, is allowed to recoup previous investments by being paid in oil. 'Eni reiterated its interest in Iran, providing sanctions are lifted and contract terms are mutually favourable,' the spokeswoman said." (Reuters, "Eni discusses arrears in meeting with Iranian oil minister," 5/4/2015)

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"A U.S.-registered jet that reportedly landed in Iran, sparking a mystery over its intent in the heavily sanctioned country, is operated by a Ghanaian mining contractor, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The New York Times NYT reported on Friday that a corporate jet with a small U.S. flag was parked in Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, saying that the Bank of Utah was its owner. It also reported the bank acted as a trustee for investors in the plane. Documents show that the tiny bank is only holding the jet in trust to ‘ensure the eligibility of the aircraft for U.S. registration with the Federal Aviation Administration,’ according to a contract seen by The Journal. The firm operating the plane, according to that contract, is Engineers & Planners Company Ltd.—a Ghanaian contractor whose CEO Ibrahim Mahama is the younger brother of Ghana's President John Mahama. Engineers & Planners, whose website says it services mining companies, didn't respond immediately to emails and calls to its office phone didn't connect. It wasn't clear whether Ghana would be in violation of any Western sanctions against Iran The Bank of Utah—which lists only 13 branches on its website—said it ‘has no operational control, financial exposure and is not a lender’ for the jet. State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said Friday that U.S. sanctions regulations 'would generally prohibit U.S.-registered aircraft from flying to Iran,' but that it was up to the Treasury Department to determine if violations of sanctions rules had occurred. A Treasury representative said the department doesn't comment on specific cases. No one has accused the bank of violating any U.S. sanctions against Iran in relation to the country's nuclear program. An Iranian aviation official dismissed reports that an American plane landed in Tehran, according to the semiofficial Tehran Times…Engineers & Planners began operating the plane in June 2012, according to a company statement posted to independent local news website Modern Ghana at the time.” (Wall Street Journal, “U.S.-Registered Jet in Iran Is Ghanaian,” 4/18/14)