On March 9, 2007, retired FBI agent Robert “Bob” Levinson disappeared on Iran‘s Kish Island, a free trade zone and resort island in the Persian Gulf. He was seeking to interview Dawud Salahuddin about a cigarette-smuggling ring. Salahuddin, born David Belfield, converted to Islam and fled to Iran after gunning down an Iranian dissident in Bethesda, Maryland, in April 1980.

Kish may be a free trade zone that, in theory, welcomes tourists. But the reality is that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps dominates the island’s import-export businesses and owns its resorts. Simply put, the IRGC uses the island as a hub for money laundering. The island may be visa-free, but the IRGC determines who can enter and exit, as well as who is permitted to operate there. When Levinson disappeared, there were no suspects outside of Iran’s military and security agencies.