The United States should more frequently blacklist foreign financial institutions that flout American sanctions barring Iranian oil sales, a lawmaker said Tuesday.
Foreign financial institutions and other non-U.S. companies newly tasked with disclosing when their affiliates deal with Iranian government officials are finding the requirements onerous, according to compliance officers and consultants.
The authors of a U.S. embargo against Iran's central bank and petroleum industry called on the White House Thursday to be strict with foreign financial institutions under the law's statutes.
The U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday overwhelmingly approved bills that would restrict loans and interbank transfers of credit involving entities that facilitate Iran's petroleum and weapons trade.
Proposed amendments to an Iran sanctions law that would require U.S. banks to certify whether their foreign counterparts do business with blacklisted Iranians would be a "huge" compliance burden if implemented, say top officials at the nation's largest financial trade group.
A U.S. official's threat last month of economic sanctions against four Chinese banks is likely to be toothless given economic and enforcement hurdles, say sanctions analysts.
The U.S. Treasury Department finalized regulations Wednesday requiring banks to ask their correspondent financial institutions about accounts tied to Iran when requested to do so by U.S. officials.
The Senate Thursday named David Cohen the nation's top sanctions official after legislators agreed to end a standoff over the U.S. Treasury Department's implementation of financial measures aimed at Iran.
U.S. officials Thursday blacklisted an Iranian financial institution and two other companies linked to the country's elite military arm as lawmakers separately questioned the efficacy of economic sanctions against the nation.
European banks are asking the U.S. Treasury Department to amend proposed regulations that would require them to conduct three-month look-backs within 30 days of a request by American officials.
New European sanctions against Iran show how secrecy jurisdictions and trade concerns have compromised efforts to inhibit the Islamic Republic's financial reach, say analysts.
The United States will sanction Turkish and Venezuelan banks as early as next week for knowingly processing transactions tied to designated Iranian entities, according to individuals familiar with the matter.
A rift between seven Republican lawmakers and the U.S. Treasury Department over financial regulations aimed at Iran is likely to delay the nomination of a new federal counterterrorism chief, say former congressional staffers.
The U.S. Treasury Department proposed rules Wednesday that would require banks to inform the government of whether their foreign counterparts hold accounts for blacklisted Iranian institutions and organizations.
China and other U.S. trading partners continue to provide Iran with energy and banking services five months after the passage of new comprehensive sanctions against the country, lawmakers said Wednesday.