Dominica Revokes Abolfazl Shamkhani’s Citizenship

After reports revealed how Abolfazl Shamkhani and his brother, Hossein Shamkhani, used Caribbean identities to own luxury real estate in Dubai worth around $29 million, the government of Dominica has now revoked Abolfazl Shamkhani’s citizenship.

Abolfazl, the son of Ali Shamkhani, is accused of hiding his father’s political connections to the Islamic Republic in order to secure a “Golden Passport.”

In a letter dated March 27, Dominica’s Minister of Labor, Pinard, informed him that his citizenship - granted under the alias “Sami Hayek” - had been revoked with immediate effect. According to the letter, he obtained citizenship in 2020 by “concealing the facts.”

Ali Shamkhani had held key positions within Iran’s power structure for years and served as a close political advisor to the late Supreme Leader. He, along with Ali Khamenei and several other senior Iranian officials, was killed on February 28 during U.S. and Israeli airstrikes.

The notice gives Abolfazl Shamkhani 25 days to file an appeal.

Dominican authorities had already revoked the citizenship of Hossein Shamkhani in the summer of 2025. He is currently under U.S. and EU sanctions for his role in facilitating oil shipments that generated billions in revenue for the Islamic Republic and Russia. In Dominica, he operated under the identity “Hugo Hayek.”

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has accused the Shamkhani family of channeling “illicit wealth” into global real estate and foreign passports to “travel undetected and keep their ties to Iran hidden.”

Reports suggest the two brothers owned at least four high-end properties in Dubai under their Dominican identities. Under Dominica’s current laws, Iranian nationals can only obtain citizenship if they have lived outside Iran for at least ten years and have no significant assets or business interests within the country.