News
House Committee Advances Bill Targeting Foreign Banks with Hezbollah Ties
By Kira Zalan
printThe House Committee on Foreign Affairs Thursday unanimously approved a measure that would penalize foreign banks that offer financial services to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed, Lebanon-based Shiite militant group. Under the amended version of the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act of 2014, the U.S. Treasury Department would prohibit or otherwise restrict when American banks can maintain correspondent and payable-through accounts for foreign counterparts that service Hezbollah-connected clients. The bill is modeled after the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, a law that pressured non-U.S. financial institutions to rethink their ties with Iranian clients. "That measure worked," said co-author...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
New U.S. sanctions intended to block a blacklisted Lebanese Shiite group from accessing the global financial system will likely raise compliance risks for lenders with operations in Lebanon and Europe, say analysts.
The U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday unanimously passed a bill aimed at foreign banks that provide financial services to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed, Lebanon-based Shiite militant group.
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.
A bipartisan bill targeting banks that offer financial services to Hezbollah is likely to garner broad political support among U.S. lawmakers, according to advocates of strong counterterrorist measures.
The financial clearing subsidiary of Deutsche Börse AG will pay the U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions enforcer $152 million for holding money in New York-based accounts on behalf of Iran's central bank.
As early as Monday, banks will be able to do what has become seemingly unthinkable in the sanctions compliance field during recent years: ramp up their ties to Iran.
The chairman of a Senate committee vowed Thursday to block additional sanctions against Iran in an effort to protect last month's multilateral accord to suspend portions of the country's nuclear program.
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.
Despite tightened controls on interbank messaging, some bankers looking to hide the role of their blacklisted clients in international wires need only type a single key on their keyboard, according to experts.
Federal officials will weigh whether financial institutions can bank medical marijuana shops, New York's financial regulators asks two financial consultancies for data and more, in this week's news roundup.
Germany's BaFin is reportedly investigating potential AML violations by Deutsche Bank, a U.K. court could order the British government to pay millions to compensate a blacklisted Iranian bank, and more, in this midweek roundup.
The U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday approved legislation that would limit White House-granted waivers to nations that purchase oil from Iran under a 2011 sanctions law.
Growing economic and political ties between Argentina and Iran are prompting some bank compliance officers to look more closely at their clients in the South American nation, say industry professionals.
A transactional data handover mandated under a $102 million settlement disclosed Tuesday between the U.S. Justice Department and a defunct Beirut bank will likely lead to new financial crime investigations.
The OECD says Portugal needs to better enforce its anti-bribery laws, the U.S. Treasury Department voices concerns about Iranian investments in Georgia, and more, in this week's news roundup.
The United States should more frequently blacklist foreign financial institutions that flout American sanctions barring Iranian oil sales, a lawmaker said Tuesday.
The White House Monday approved new powers to stifle the use of Iran's currency, impose financial restrictions on the country's automotive sector and blacklist those who support U.S. sanctions designees.
The U.S. Treasury Department Tuesday proposed designating two Beirut-based currency exchange houses under the Patriot Act for allegedly helping Lebanese drug traffickers launder millions of dollars.
High-profile sanctions cases are spurring large banks and third-party software vendors to improve how they identify when counterparts and clients secretly act on behalf of blacklisted entities, say compliance experts.
Midweek Roundup: Switzerland to Limit Cash Payments, Horse Meat Sales Linked to Laundering, and More
Switzerland's Federal Council says it may limit cash purchases of property, jewelry and other assets, Iran appeals European Union sanctions imposed in March, and more, in this midweek roundup.