Large Iranian state-owned bank; described by the U.S. Department of the Treasury as the "bank of choice" of Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO), and as a "financial conduit" for acquiring sensitive materials for Iran's missile program from abroad.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, arranges financing and processes multi-million dollar transactions for AIO and its subordinates, and serves as a provider of key financial services to AIO subsidiaries Shahid Hemmat Industries Group (SHIG) and Shahid Bakeri Industries Group (SBIG); both SHIG and SBIG were identified by the U.N. Security Council as entities involved in Iran's ballistic missile program; according to the U.S. Treasury Department, in 2005 financed the sale of missile related items from a Chinese firm to Iran and transferred more than $500,000 on behalf of AIO to a North Korean firm associated with the Korea Mining Development Trading Bureau (KOMID), which has been described by the Treasury Department as "North Korea's chief ballistic missile-related exporter."

Operates some 1,700 domestic branches, three branches abroad in Paris, Rome and Frankfurt, and one wholly-owned subsidiary, Bank Sepah International Plc, in London; "affiliated companies" have included Omid Investment Management Company (OIM Co) and Bank Sepah Brokerage Company (BSB Co); together with OIM Co and BSB Co, owns over 50 percent of shares of the Sepah Investment Company; members of the Board of Directors have included Mohammad Kazem Chaghazardi, Hamed Heyat, Hamidreza Khatibi, Esa Kazemnezhad, Hadi Akhlaghi, and Ahmad Derakhshandeh.

Swift Bank Code for Bank Sepah in Iran is SEPB IR TH; registration number is 4293; established in 1925.

Sanctions

As part of the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions on Iran, added on November 5, 2018 to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), freezing its assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibiting transactions with U.S. parties, pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems; foreign parties facilitating transactions for the entity or otherwise assisting the entity are subject to U.S. sanctions; also designated pursuant to Executive Order 13599 and subject to the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations; foreign financial institutions facilitating transactions for the entity may be prohibited from opening or maintaining correspondent or payable-through accounts in the United States.

Previously added to the SDN list on January 9, 2007, pursuant to Executive Order 13382; removed from the SDN list in January 2016 as part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, but identified as a part of the Government of Iran, prohibiting transactions with U.S. parties.

Sanctioned on February 5, 2016 by the government of Canada for involvement in Iran’s proliferation activities or affiliation with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), prohibiting (with some exceptions) its access to goods, funds, and related services in Canada.

Designated by the U.N. Security Council on March 24, 2007, pursuant to resolution 1737 (2006), as an entity involved in Iran’s proliferation sensitive nuclear activities or development of nuclear weapon delivery systems; U.N. sanctions removed on January 17, 2016 following a delisting request.

Listed by the European Union on April 21, 2007 as an entity linked to Iran's proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities or Iran's development of nuclear weapon delivery systems; removed from the E.U. list on January 23, 2016.

Listed by the British government in 2015 as an entity of potential concern for WMD-related procurement, but removed in 2017 after the U.K. withdrew its Iran list.