Head of top Iran bank fired after U.S. sanctions imposed

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Oct. 18 – The head of an Iranian bank which the United States recently imposed tough sanctions against has been sacked, state-run press reported earlier this week. Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Oct. 18 – The head of an Iranian bank which the United States recently imposed tough sanctions against has been sacked, state-run press reported earlier this week.

Hamid Borhani, who headed Bank Saderat Iran, was fired for failing to cooperate with the government on credit provisions that have been pledged by hard-line Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as part of his populist platform.

Borhani was appointed chairman and managing director of Bank Saderat Iran in November 2005.

The heads of state-operated Bank Melli and Bank Maskan, who were appointed six months ago, have also been designated for dismissal, the state-run economic daily Sarmayeh wrote.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced in September that it had blacklisted Bank Saderat because of its “support for terrorism”.

“Bank Saderat facilitates Iran’s transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars to Hezbollah and other terrorist organisations each year. We will no longer allow a bank like Saderat to do business in the American financial system, even indirectly”, said Stuart Levey, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI).

Bank Saderat is one of the largest Iranian-owned banks, with roughly 3400 branch offices.