Tehran, Iran, Nov.11
Trend:
Four Iranian banks and financial institutions have been removed from the US secondary sanctions list.
Middle East Bank, Hekmat Iranian Bank, Qarz Al-Hasaneh Mehr Iran Bank and Tose`e Credit Institution were exempted from the secondary sanctions list on Thursday.
Indeed the "Subject to secondary sanctions" tag to these institutions has been lifted." Managing director of anti-money laundering and compliance in Middle East Bank Farzaneh Rajaee told ISNA.
"Currently 12 Iranian banks are not listed in the US secondary sanctions list and the SWIFT system can operate with them. These banks should become globally active and find banks who are willing to work with them to transfer money,” she added.
She noted Iranian banks including Saman, Karafarin, Sarmayeh and Eghtesad Novin were previously tagged in "Subject to secondary sanctions ".
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the responsible organization that works under US Department of Treasury created the secondary list.
"The OFAC has various lists and the most important one is Specially Designated National (SDN) that includes companies and individuals subjected to basic sanctions alongside those which are listed in the secondary sanctions." she said.
"It appears that OFAC wants to open a channel for import of food, medical and humanitarian goods, however we might not use this channel to import other types of cargos."
