Bahrain to prosecute 13 of Iran’s top financial institutions for money laundering
Bahrain is to prosecute Iran’s most prominent financial institutions on charges related to money laundering of US$1.3 billion via the now defunct Bahrain-based Future Bank. This is the largest such case in the Gulf state’s history. Prosecutors say Future Bank – established jointly in the…
Iran’s AML/CFT failings deter Chinese and Russian banks
Chinese and Russian banks are increasingly shying away from doing business with Iran after the Islamic Republic failed to enact anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) legislation demanded by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) according to an Iranian business leader. Earlier this year…
Halkbank pleads not guilty to sanctions busting trade-based financial crimes
Halkbank, the large Turkish state-owned bank that has been accused in the US of substantial sanctions violations, has pleaded not guilty at a Manhattan court to criminal charges that it helped Iranian entities illicitly transfer tens of billions of dollars in a scheme that used…
Iran sets up special courts to deal with financial crime in gold coin trades and foreign exchange dealings
Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, has agreed to a request by the head of Iran’s judiciary to set up special courts to swiftly deal with financial crimes in gold coin trades and foreign exchange dealings. In a letter to Khamenei, judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli…
