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For U.S. Banks, Compliance Risks of Iran Deal May Lie Overseas: Sanctions Expert
printThe expected reemergence of Iran on global markets will likely pose the toughest challenge for sanctions compliance officers in the coming year, according to Alexandre Lamy, an attorney with Baker & McKenzie's International Trade Practice Group. The uneven nature of the sanctions-relief package, which would keep in place most U.S. restrictions while suspending the bulk of global prohibitions against the Islamic republic, raises compliance questions that have yet to be answered. What's certain is that banks will have to monitor against banned U.S.-dollar transactions and prohibited activity by affiliates and clients with an American footprint, he said. Lamy, who also...
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The nuclear accord reached last year between five Western nations and Iran has done more than stir hopes and fears about the Islamic republic's return to global markets. For U.S. sanctions experts, the deal has also created a mountain of work, according to a former Treasury Department official.
Several financial institutions in the European Union and Asia are "ring-fencing" their American employees and taking other preliminary steps to reengage with Iran months after economic sanctions were eased under a global nuclear accord.
Several U.S. banks are rejecting or blocking transactions involving dozens of entities removed from Western blacklists in January over concerns that the parties may have ties to the Iranian government.
With the rollback of Iran sanctions underway, more banks in the Islamic republic are likely to seek to refill their coffers through lawsuits seeking damages for the restrictions, according to sources.
Iran's historic reentry into global markets Saturday came with expected fanfare and protest, and few surprises. Least surprising of all, the implementation of the sanctions accord means that the toughest work for banks could lie ahead.
A U.S. congressional panel on Thursday approved legislation targeting dozens of Iranian financial institutions expected to soon be freed of international sanctions under terms of a nuclear accord signed in June.
Iran is in talks to begin working with an intergovernmental financial-crime watchdog as the country prepares for a potential rollback of international sanctions, an official with the organization said.
The Obama administration on Friday further eased U.S. economic and trade sanctions against Cuba, ending certain prohibitions on banking relationships and limits on wire transfers to the nation.
U.S. officials should blacklist an elite Iranian military branch and its foreign proxies for their suspected financial support of terrorism, analysts and lawmakers said Thursday.
Should Iranian companies rejoin global markets next year under the terms of last month's intergovernmental accord, sanctioned Russian businesses could be discreetly riding on their coattails.
An accord between Iran and six nations expected to result in the broad suspension of sanctions against the Islamic republic will likely bring questions along with opportunities for banks.
Iran and six nations outlined a possible permanent accord Thursday that would impose long-term limits on the Islamic republic's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of nearly all Western and U.N. sanctions.
Even with limited sanctions relief from the United States, foreign banks have been reluctant to process transactions for Iran under the terms of a newly-extended multilateral accord, an American official said Tuesday.
U.S. officials Tuesday charged a blacklisted Chinese national with using shell companies to maintain accounts at American banks and offered five million dollars for information on his whereabouts.
International banks are bracing for economic sanctions against Russian officials beyond those announced Monday by Western nations, according to compliance officers.
As the Obama administration weighs punitive measures against Russia, part of its calculus will be the degree to which Russian officials can undermine U.S. national interests, including sanctions against Iran.
Western financial institutions won't radically amend their sanctions controls in response to an agreement to limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for a relaxation of banking restrictions, say former officials.
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 government of Iran and banks under its influence are increasingly using investments in foreign financial institutions as a means to circumvent sanctions, including restrictions on interbank messages, say sources.
For U.S. financial institutions, recent talks about a potential thaw between the United States and Cuba have signaled more than just a possible end to a Cold War enmity. They’ve signaled dollar signs.