Iran General NewsUS Government pressurises banks to stop dealing with Iran

US Government pressurises banks to stop dealing with Iran

-

The Independent: Dozens of banks have stopped or scaled back their businesses with Iran and other “rogue states” after informal pressure from the US government aimed at sidestepping the need for international sanctions. The Independent

By Stephen Foley in New York

Dozens of banks have stopped or scaled back their businesses with Iran and other “rogue states” after informal pressure from the US government aimed at sidestepping the need for international sanctions.

The Goldman Sachs banker-turned-Treasury Secretary, Hank Paulson, has been making presentations on Wall Street that might normally be expected more in the halls of the United Nations, setting out the links between financial institutions operating in rogue states and organised crime or terrorism.

The presentations have been remarkably successful at snipping the ties between rogue nations and the global financial markets, and are expected to be stepped up next year as the US confronts Iran over its nuclear programme and its alleged financing of terrorist groups.

“We are trying use the private sector’s natural inclinations to want to avoid bad conduct and make sure their reputations are clean,” said Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey.

“We want to figure out how to work with the private sector so they amplify what we want to have happen.”

Some two dozen financial institutions have voluntarily cut back or cut off dealings with North Korea this year, since the US blacklisted Banco Delta Asia of Macao for – the Treasury says – helping North Korean officials collect surreptitious multimillion dollar cash deposits.

A similar action against the Tehran-based Bank Saderat, accused of helping finance terror groups, was taken in September 2006 and is also featuring in the Treasury’s Wall Street offensive.

By highlighting these actions directly to bankers, the Treasury has made some foreign banks understand an implicit threat: that their access to the US market might be threatened if they do business with parties deemed undesirable by the US government.

The Treasury believes it has found a shortcut to achieving the sort of financial sanctions that might take months or years to agree at the UN.

Latest news

 Statistics show that New Year accidents’ deaths in Iran reached 585

Ahmad Shirani, the head of the Information and Traffic Control Center of the Iranian regime’s police, announced that the...

Land Subsidence in Critical Conditions in Isfahan

Mehdi Toghyani, a member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), pointed to the occurrence of land subsidence in various...

Iran’s Actual Inflation Rate Higher Than Official Stats

The state-run Donya-e-eqtesad newspaper, in a report analyzing the "general sentiment" regarding inflation in 2023, has stated that households...

Iranian Workers’ Monthly $136 Wages Can’t Cover $500 Expenses

The lives of a significant portion of the Iranian population are marked by uncertainty, largely because the Iranian economy...

Iranian Nurses Earn Twice Their Wages in Ride-Hailing Services

Reza Aryanpour, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) Health and Treatment Commission, highlighted the growing trend of nurses...

Iran: Unprecedented Record of 152 Million Liters of Gasoline Consumption Per Day

On March 19, Iran set a new historical record in gasoline consumption with 152 million liters consumed in one...

Must read

U.S. Must Act Now to Stop Iranian ICBM Development and Testing

Iran Focus London, 23 Jul - Because of its...

Public execution for the teenagers convicted of rape

The Times: Iran has publicly hanged two male teenagers...

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you