Iranian Entity: Ahmad Derakhshandeh

Derakhshandeh, Ahmad

Chairman of the Board and Managing Director of Bank Sepah, the fifth largest Iranian state-owned bank; listed in an annex to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1747 of March 24, 2007, as a person involved in Iran's nuclear or ballistic missile activities; with some exceptions, the designation requires states to freeze the financial assets on their territories which are owned or controlled by the entity, by its agents, or by entities it controls; the designation also requires states to ensure that funds, financial assets or economic resources are prevented from being made available by their nationals or by any persons or entities within their territories, to or for the benefit of the entity; the resolution calls on states to "exercise vigilance" in allowing the designated person to enter or to transit through their territories, and requires states to notify the Security Council if the person does so; designated in January 2007 by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their delivery systems; the designation freezes the entity's assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits transactions with U.S. parties; Bank Sepah was described by the U.S. Treasury's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence as "the financial lynchpin of Iran's missile procurement network ... [that] has actively assisted Iran's pursuit of missiles capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction," and was also designated under Executive Order 13382.