McCormick’s firm invested millions in Iran-linked companies, including weapons manufacturer

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick oversaw investments in companies that did business with Iran. Some of these companies were divested from by Pennsylvania, the state he is now seeking to represent.

From 2009 to 2022, McCormick was an executive at Bridgewater Associates, a private equity firm in Connecticut. According to the Bridgewater website, McCormick was “responsible for overseeing the firm’s strategy, governance, and operations.” He took personal responsibility for all investments the company made under his leadership.

“I was the CEO, so whatever we did, I’m responsible for,” McCormick said in 2023.

Between 2017 and 2019, Bridgewater invested between $11.6 million and $66.5 million in the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). The holdings were through various hedge funds. In 2009, CNOOC made a deal with Iran’s state-owned oil company to develop gas fields in Iran.

In 2014, the Pennsylvania Treasury barred public funds from investing in CNOOC. The decision was made under Act 44, a state law that prohibits public funds from investing in companies with ties to Iran’s and Sudan’s energy sectors. The law specifically cites concerns about terrorism and human rights violations in these countries.

Another company Bridgewater invested in was the China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, also known as Sinopec. According to public filings, the firm held up to $53.6 million in Sinopec between 2017 and 2021. Like CNOOC, Sinopec entered into a multi-billion dollar deal with Iran to develop gas fields.

Pennsylvania public funds were prohibited from investing in Sinopec starting in 2011.

In the same period, Bridgewater invested between $7.7 million and $43.7 million in Petrochina, a subsidiary of the China National Petroleum Corporation. In 2019, Petrochina acknowledged that it bought crude oil from both Iran and Sudan. The company also took part in Iranian gas field development.

Pennsylvania public funds divested from Petrochina from 2011 to 2020.

Bridgewater made other Iran-linked investments during McCormick’s tenure.

In 2021, Bridgewater held up to $175,753 in North Industries Group Red Arrow Co., a manufacturer of artillery shells, rockets, and missiles. The company is a subsidiary of the China North Industries Group, also known as Norinco.

In January 2024, Israel seized Norinco-made assault weapons and grenade launchers from the terrorist group Hamas. The Telegraph reported that Hamas likely obtained the weapons from Iran. It was previously reported that Iran provided both weapons and training to Hamas militants ahead of the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack that killed 1,139 Israelis.

Between 2003 and 2005, Norinco was sanctioned three times by the U.S. State Department for allegedly assisting Iran with its ballistic missile program.

Bridgewater’s investments could leave McCormick vulnerable to accusations of hypocrisy. On the campaign trail, he has repeatedly said that Iran exporting oil to China is a security threat and has called for sanctions to halt such transactions.

“We have a sanctions regime that was designed to stop Iran from exporting oil around the world,” McCormick said in a 2023 interview with the Delaware Valley Journal. “We haven’t enforced those sanctions, particularly as it relates to China. So you have two adversaries: one in Iran, who gets all its money from those exports, and you have China, who’s an adversary and saber-rattling as it relates to Taiwan, who’s getting the benefit of that Iranian oil … This is a clear area where you tighten the sanctions around Iran and make sure that its main export, oil, is not going to China.”

McCormick has described Iran as “our sworn enemy” and the “underwriter of terror across the Middle East.”

McCormick is challenging incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey. A McCormick spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions for this story.