New U.S. regulations and a reported sanctions probe by New York officials are increasing pressure on the reinsurance sector, an industry where knowing your customer can prove difficult, say consultants.
The growing use of China's currency to conduct international trade payments could weaken the potency of U.S. efforts to promote anti-money laundering practices and impose financial sanctions, say analysts.
The U.S. Treasury Department Monday sanctioned Iran's third largest bank hours after the European Union agreed to freeze the assets of the Middle Eastern nation's central bank.
U.S. senators Monday approved a reconciled defense appropriations bill that would sanction Iran's central bank, making only a single nod to White House concerns that the bill would displease trade partners.
The U.S. Treasury Department Monday proposed designating Iran as a "primary money laundering concern" and requiring banks to end correspondent relationships with foreign institutions that transact for Iranians.
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.
U.S. and European banks are rejecting millions of dollars of legitimate remittances originating from Iran and intended for Iranians and Iranian-Americans in the United States, even when federal authorities approve the transactions.
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