FROM A
DIFFERENT ANGLE by Kenneth Rijock
Financial Crime Consultant, for World-Check
Bank Saderat Iran disputes money laundering allegations
23 November 2007

Bank Saderat Iran, globally sanctioned by OFAC, now claims that "international auditors" that examined the bank's accounts for the period between 2001 and 2006 have failed to find any evidence of money laundering. According to US authorities, the bank has allegedly been engaged in money laundering for Hizballah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, two designated global terrorist organisations. Is this simply damage control, or is the bank being genuine about this issue? And what's this about the bank bringing a lawsuit against the United States?

Bank Saderat's Managing Diector and Chairman, Dr. Hamid Borhani, was quoted by the government-controlled Islamic Republic News Agency (IRSA) to the effect that the unnamed auditors found no proof of money laundering, as alleged by the  United States, and that Iran has had effective AML laws in effect for several years.

The most puzzling statement is that there is a lawsuit pending, by the bank, against the United States. I cannot find any such case pending in any US District Court, and it is doubtful that a suit could be maintained in local or state courts for purported OFAC misconduct. So where is this lawsuit pending?


The facts and opinions stated in this article are those of the author and not those of World-Check. World-Check does not warrant the accuracy of any facts and opinions stated in this article, does not endorse them, and accepts no responsibility for them.

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