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U.S. Weighs Sanctions on Iran's Central Bank

[Wall Street Journal] Glenn R. Simpson - The Treasury Department is gathering evidence it says shows that the central bank of Iran is helping other Iranian institutions elude U.S. economic sanctions, in what could be a prelude to penalties against the central bank. Now, financial-intelligence officials say the Iranian central bank, also known as Bank Markazi, is handling U.S.-dollar transactions for the blacklisted private banks, and is also helping them by backing their existing dollar-denominated letters of credit. The central bank is the keystone of Iran's financial system and its principal remaining lifeline to the international banking system. U.S. sanctions against it could have a severe impact on Iranian trade if other nations in Europe and Asia choose to go along with them. In a Feb. 8 speech, U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt asserted that Iranian banks are attempting to remove their names from transaction records when conducting business internationally. Between 2001 and 2006, Kimmitt alleged, Bank Saderat, an Iranian bank, "moved $50 million from the central bank of Iran through its subsidiary in London to its branch in Beirut to the benefit of Hizbullah front organizations in Lebanon that support acts of violence."
2008-02-25 01:00:00
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