Bahrain's public prosecution office referred the Central Bank of Iran, Bank Melli Iran, Bank Saderat Iran, and other Iranian banks for criminal trial after accusing them of laundering $1.3 billion through Future Bank, a Manama-based financial institution that Bahrain shuttered in 2016. According to Bahraini authorities' investigation of Future Bank's activities between 2008 and 2012, the Central Bank of Iran instructed Future Bank on how to exploit an illicit alternative transfer system to hide the origin and movement of money, so as to circumvent sanctions on Iranian entities. Additional investigations into similar violations involving Future Bank and the Iranian banks are ongoing and are expected to identify more suspect entities, according to Bahraini authorities.