U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is reassuring European banks they won’t be penalized for conducting or facilitating legitimate business with Iran.
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At an unusual meeting in London, the top USA diplomat joined Britain’s top commerce official to challenge what Kerry called “misinterpretations or mere rumors” about US sanctions on Iran, the most sweeping of which were lifted in exchange for Iran rolling back its nuclear program.
Kerry says some banks have been reluctant to take what they think is a risk by doing business with Iran. He says the US wants to make clear that as long as banks do their “normal due diligence” to know whom they’re doing business with, they won’t be held to an undefined or inappropriate standard.
“The U.S. Treasury. acts in such a way that big corporations, big institutions and big banks do not dare to come and deal with Iran”, Khamenei said in March.
The London-based bank settled with NY regulators in 2012 for $340 million after being accused of scheming with the Iranian government to launder billions of dollars.
Earlier this week, Mr. Kerry told reporters that businesses cite the U.S.as an excuse for not doing business with Iran and said such explanations weren’t fair or accurate.
“Just because Iran is broadcasting that it is open for business does not mean it is smart or legal business”, said UANI Chairman Sen.
For a bank’s lawyers and compliance officers, that’s a recipe for heartburn.
Hammond, Kerry’s British counterpart, said the goal was to bridge the disconnect between the political intentions of the countries that negotiated the nuclear deal and the “banking world reality”.
On Monday, more than 100 Iranian members of the parliament urged Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani to abandon the nuclear agreement and resume past nuclear activities if the USA goes ahead with its plan to distribute the court-approved terror funds, according to Iran’s Press TV. Major global accounting and risk-management firms don’t operate there, putting banks at risk of unwittingly violating sanctions.
REUTERS/Eddie KeoghPeople walk past the head office of Standard Chartered bank in the City of London February 27, 2015. An worldwide standards body combating money laundering and terrorist financing, called the Financial Action Task Force, deemed Iran ” a serious threat to the integrity of the global financial system” in February and urged members to “pay special attention” to transactions with Iran, an assessment that discourages many projects.
Significant restrictions remain on Iran to combat support for militant groups, human rights abuses and ballistic-missile development.
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Other banks that attended the meeting – including Barclays (BCS), Societe Generale (SCGLF) and Santander (SAN) – did not respond to CNNMoney’s request for comment. He said if world powers are to ensure their objective of normalizing relations with Iran and ending its global isolation, they must succeed in persuading banks that it’s safe to invest in the Islamic Republic. It’s – essentially it’s the first hurdle in the race, and if we fall at this one, then we’ll never get the chance to demonstrate all the other benefits that can flow from this agreement that we spent so much time and energy delivering past year.
