The Seoul-based Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) will pay $86 million to settle U.S. federal and New York state charges for transferring $1 billion worth of illegal payments to Iran on behalf of former client Kenneth Zong. Zong was indicted for sanctions violations and money laundering in December 2016. IBK accepted responsibility for violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to maintain adequate anti-money laundering controls at its New York branch. The settlement includes a $51 million forfeiture, a $35 million civil fine, and requires the bank to improve customer due diligence and management oversight. The bank has signed a two-year deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice and a nonprosecution agreement with New York.
News Briefs
April 20, 2020
-- Reuters
April 10, 2020
The South Korean government has secured General License No. 8 from the United States, authorizing certain humanitarian transactions with Iran, including those involving Iran's Central Bank, which is subject to U.S. sanctions. These transactions are expected to begin in May 2020. South Korea may also use the Korean Humanitarian Trade Arrangement, which transacts with Iranian banks not specifically subject to U.S. sanctions, and the Swiss Humanitarian Trade Arrangement to ship humanitarian goods to Iran.
-- Mehr News Agency
April 2, 2020
The speaker of Iran’s parliament, Ali Larijani, has tested positive for COVID-19, becoming one of the most senior officials to be infected. Larijani is quarantined and receiving treatment for the illness. Of the 290 representatives in Iran's parliament, 23 have tested positive for COVID-19, while 12 current or former government officials have died of COVID-19.
-- Agence France-Presse (AFP)
March 31, 2020
Germany, France, and the United Kingdom announced the completion of the first transaction through the INSTEX trade mechanism, facilitating the export of medical goods from Europe to Iran. Stakeholders are now working to enhance the mechanism and facilitate additional transactions.
-- The Associated Press
March 31, 2020
The United States renewed "civilian nuclear cooperation" waivers that allow Russian, European, and Chinese companies to pursue work at some of Iran's declared nuclear sites without the risk of U.S. sanctions. The 60-day waivers cover ongoing projects at the Bushehr nuclear power reactor, the Arak heavy water plant, and the Tehran Research Reactor.
-- The Associated Press
March 26, 2020
The United States sanctioned 20 companies and individuals with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the IRGC-Quds Force, and Iran-backed militias in Iraq. The sanctions target a network of front companies used to fund terrorist activities in the region, including the Reconstruction Organization of the Holy Shrines in Iraq, as well as Kataib Hezbollah commander Shaykh Adnan al-Hamidawi, and IRGC officials accused of selling Iranian oil to Syria and smuggling weapons to Yemen and Iraq.
-- Al-Monitor
March 26, 2020
The United States renewed waivers allowing Iraq to import Iranian gas and electricity but limited the duration of the waiver to 30 days. According to a U.S. official, the shortened period is meant to serve as a warning that Iraq must expedite efforts to diversify its energy supply away from Iran. The United States also sanctioned entities accused of exploiting the waivers to funnel money to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF).
-- The Wall Street Journal
March 23, 2020
The European Union will give Iran 20 million euros in humanitarian aid over the next two weeks to help combat the coronavirus. The EU will also support Iran’s request for financial help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
-- Reuters
March 22, 2020
The United States announced new sanctions on companies and individuals connected to Iran’s Organization of Defensive Innovation of Research (SPND), including scientists who worked on Iran’s nuclear program in the early 2000s. The United States accused Iran of keeping the scientists together as a team so that it would have the necessary expertise to develop a nuclear weapons program in the future. The individuals continue to work on R&D of dual-use technologies, and the listing will restrict them from participating in international conferences and performing research with foreign universities.
-- The Washington Post
March 21, 2020
France released Jalal Ruhollahnejad, an Iranian engineer wanted by U.S. authorities for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions, in a prisoner swap for French academic Roland Marchal. A French court had already approved plans to extradite Ruhollahnejad to the United States, where he would face charges of attempting to acquire sensitive U.S. technology on behalf of a company with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
-- Reuters