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U.S. Treasury Department Prohibits Iranian U-turn Transactions
By Matt Squire
printThe U.S. Treasury Department called on financial institutions Thursday to stop processing dollar transactions involving Iran, even when no American parties are involved. Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey said that the department had revoked Iran's "U-turn license," which allowed U.S. financial institutions to process payments involving Iran as long as the transactions do not originate from, or ultimately settle into Iranian or American banks. By blocking u-turn transactions, the U.S. government will remove "the last general entry point for Iranian banks – both state-owned and private – to the U.S. financial system," said Levey, in a...
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Two of the most stringent of several federal bills meant to increase pressure on Iran would forbid banks from processing transactions indirectly tied to Iranian entities. The bills, H.R.1400 and S.970, jointly called the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act of 2007, would prohibit u-turn transactions.