Central Bank Warns Commercial Banks about Transactions Linked to Iran
The National Bank of Georgia released a statement on 12 December that warned commercial banks to be wary of transactions linked to Iran in order to avoid violating U.S. sanctions against the country.
The Central Bank issued its statements in light of the increased use of the transit corridor of Iran “for importing goods from some Asian countries, to reduce the significantly increased transport costs due to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The statement noted that banking transactions that are directly or indirectly related to Iran and/or goods of Iranian origin, which are “under full-scale U.S. sanctions against Iran,” including banking settlements related to transporting cargo through Iran and/or by means of transport registered in Iran, “may be considered a violation of international sanctions imposed by the U.S.”
Accordingly, the Bank stressed that “in the framework of correspondent relations of the banking sector, such transactions create a risk of delay in carrying out FX [foreign exchange] transactions overseas.”
In order to maintain alignment with international sanctions imposed by the U.S., the Central Bank underscored that “commercial banks are obliged to implement enhanced preventive measures against entities related to Iran, as well as to perform enhanced monitoring of transactions related to Iran, and not to perform similar transactions, if they detect the risk of violating the sanctions.”
The Central Bank also noted that they have worked with commercial banks to develop detailed requirements for commercial banks to “significantly reduce the risks of violating the requirements of international sanctions.”
To that end, the Central Bank underscored that the requirements are “mandatory” for all commercial banks. “In addition, commercial banks are authorized to use even stricter control mechanisms according to their internal policies and procedures,” the Bank added.
Also Read:
- 21/11/2022 – Georgia Absent as UN Votes Rights Resolution on Iran
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
