U.S. officials are increasingly relying on economic sanctions as a tool of foreign policy, but the effectiveness of sanctions in achieving policy objectives is questionable, according to Bryan Early, political science professor at University at Albany.
For the fourth time this year, U.S. officials blacklisted an Iranian national using a Caribbean passport while purportedly helping Iran circumvent sanctions.
The House Committee on Foreign Affairs Thursday unanimously approved a measure that would penalize foreign banks that offer financial services to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed, Lebanon-based Shiite militant group.
U.S. officials Tuesday charged a blacklisted Chinese national with using shell companies to maintain accounts at American banks and offered five million dollars for information on his whereabouts.
The financial clearing subsidiary of Deutsche Börse AG will pay the U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions enforcer $152 million for holding money in New York-based accounts on behalf of Iran's central bank.
As early as Monday, banks will be able to do what has become seemingly unthinkable in the sanctions compliance field during recent years: ramp up their ties to Iran.
The chairman of a Senate committee vowed Thursday to block additional sanctions against Iran in an effort to protect last month's multilateral accord to suspend portions of the country's nuclear program.
Lawmakers should press ahead with Iran sanctions bills despite pressure to put off new restrictions while American and Iranian officials hold nuclear talks, according to David Ibsen, executive director of United Against Nuclear Iran.
New U.S. regulations and a reported sanctions probe by New York officials are increasing pressure on the reinsurance sector, an industry where knowing your customer can prove difficult, say consultants.
A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Wednesday that would bar foreign financial institutions that help Iran's central bank circumvent currency restrictions from holding correspondent accounts in the United States.
Foreign financial institutions and other non-U.S. companies newly tasked with disclosing when their affiliates deal with Iranian government officials are finding the requirements onerous, according to compliance officers and consultants.
The government of Iran and banks under its influence are increasingly using investments in foreign financial institutions as a means to circumvent sanctions, including restrictions on interbank messages, say sources.
New economic sanctions against Iran are expected to shine more daylight on foreign banks processing certain commodities payments or maintaining accounts for individuals and companies blacklisted by the United States.
After a busy year for federal sanctions officials, large banks with international footprints are increasingly instituting deeper, standalone audits of their related policies and procedures, say compliance officers and consultants.
EU sanctions imposed against Iran earlier this month will likely further sever the Persian nation's few remaining ties to the continent's financial sector, including trade finance deals, say industry consultants.
The United States exempted China and Singapore Thursday from Iran sanctions passed in December to pressure foreign central banks to suspend Iranian oil purchases.
The authors of a U.S. embargo against Iran's central bank and petroleum industry called on the White House Thursday to be strict with foreign financial institutions under the law's statutes.
U.S. and foreign banks are awaiting official guidance on how to adhere to a new American sanctions law against the Central Bank of Iran before implementing its screening procedures.
The U.S. Treasury Department will designate Iran a "primary money laundering concern" on Monday, according to published reports.
The U.S. Treasury Department Monday proposed designating Iran as a "primary money laundering concern" and requiring banks to end correspondent relationships with foreign institutions that transact for Iranians.