News
U.N. Iran Report Unlikely to Deter Sanctions Proponents: Former U.N. Inspector
By Brian Monroe
printA United Nations report that Iran has slowed uranium production and cooperated with some inspections of a nuclear site will do little to dissuade proponents of sanctioning the country, according to a former U.N. inspector. On Friday, the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) circulated a report acknowledging limited cooperation from the Persian country, which is suspected of creating a nuclear weapons program. The agency said that Iran had, however, not suspended its enrichment activities or related heavy-water projects as required by the U.N. Security Council. The 4,592 centrifuges that were actively enriching uranium were down from the 4,920 at...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Subscribe
Learn More
Related News
European companies may be lining up at the gate to do business with Iran in the event of a sanctions rollback but don't expect the continent's banks to go rushing in anytime soon.
The 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.
As U.S. officials and bankers debate the merits and drawbacks of an expected $10 billion sanctions settlement with BNP Paribas, their French counterparts are offering a more unified response: outrage.
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.
The West's financial ties to Russia have given countries pause in considering further sanctions, a Roman judge dropped a money laundering case against the former head of the Vatican Bank and more, in this week's news roundup.
In announcing sanctions against Russian politicians and one bank Thursday, U.S. officials made clear that American financial institutions should prepare for more, and soon.
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.
Amid all of the political rhetoric and bombast that accompanied television coverage of the 16-day government shutdown last month, one question never seemed to get any airtime: what did it all mean for the financial compliance industry?
JPMorgan Chase launches AML SWAT team as the bank's legal costs mount, Turkey blacklists over 350 entities in an effort to comply with United Nations sanctions, and more, in this week's news roundup.
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.
It's not a new message, but the world's governments are counting on the private sector to make sanctions against Iran (and other countries) work.
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.
It was an announcement sure to raise some eyebrows among sanctions compliance officers: on Aug. 29, the international trade group Economic Cooperation Organization said it would not enforce sanctions against Iran, according to news reports.
The United Kingdom banned British financial institutions Monday from transacting business with an Iranian shipping company and one of Iran's five state-owned banks.
If talks between Iran and global powers founder, the United States will likely lobby the United Nations to blacklist at least one of two Iranian government-owned banks, say sanctions analysts.
The head of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee will soon introduce a bill to broaden sanctions against financial institutions and other businesses tied to Iran and the country's nuclear ambitions.
Iran's decision to cooperate with the U.N.'s nuclear agency is a sign that the country could be prepared to make concessions to avoid further economic sanctions, say analysts.