BMI rejects US claims of illegal money transfer to Iraq
Bank Melli Iran (BMI) dismissed a claim by US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) that it has been funneling ‘billions of dollars’ to its branch in Iraq to fund militias.
In a statement, Bank Melli Iran said OFAC’S claim about the transfer of funds to Iraqi militias, which was cited by anti-iran media outlets a few days ago, is “far from reality and unaccounted for”, Fars News Agency reported.
Earlier this month, OFAC sanctioned more than 700 individuals, entities, aircraft, and vessels as part of the US administration’s reimposition of anti-iran sanctions that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear agreement.
In its press release, OFAC said it sanctions BMI for “assisting in, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to or in support of” the IRGC’S Qods Force.
“As of 2018, the equivalent of billions of dollars in funds have flowed through IRGC-QF controlled accounts at Bank Melli Iran,” OFAC claimed.
The Iranian bank, however, said the entire amount transferred to and withdrawn from its branch in Iraq is far less than the amount claimed by the US Treasury.
“All the activities of the branch are according to the regulations of the Central Bank of Iraq,” the bank said in a statement.
CBI branches in regional countries and other parts of the world are operating in accordance with international trade regulations and the rules of the host countries, the statement noted.
“The activities of these branches ... have been monitored by the central banks in these countries during the past seven decades,” the statement said.
Bank Melli Iran’s branch in Iraq was established in 2007 in a professional move and as part of the bank’s branch expansion policies, it added.
The branch was established in Iraq to offer conventional banking services according to legal procedures of the Arab country, the Bank Melli Iran said in the statement. It added that so far, according to the audits of the host country, the bank’s performance has been assessed as accurate and well-documented.
“Therefore, the OFAC’S false claim about the transfer of money to Iraqi militias ... ignores the consistent cultural, historical, social and economic relations between the two countries, and the fact that the huge number of pilgrims commuting between the two states need to use banking services,” the statement said.
In its press release, OFAC claimed the IRGC’S Quds Force “has used Bank Melli Iran to dispense funds to Iraqi Shia militant groups, and Bank Melli Iran’s presence in Iraq was part of this scheme”.
“Bank Melli has enabled the IRGC and its affiliates to move funds inside and outside of Iran,” it added.
Bank Melli Iran is the first national and commercial retail bank of Iran. It is considered as the largest Iranian company in terms of annual income. It is the largest bank in the Islamic world and in the Middle East.
By the end of 2016, BMI had a net asset of $76.6 billion and a vast network of 3,328 banking branches; so it is known as the largest Iranian bank based on the amount of assets.
Bank Melli Iran has 3,328 branches operating in Iran and 14 active branches and four sub-stations abroad.
The first foreign branch of BMI was opened in Hamburg, Germany in 1948.