Washington, November 06: The US Treasury Department today announced sanctions against the Malaysian subsidiary of Iran’s Bank Mellat, which Washington says helps finance the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The Treasury Department said Bank Mellat “has facilitated the movement of millions of dollars for Iran’s nuclear program.”
Sanctions also were slapped on Bank Mellat chairman Ali Divandari who “plays a significant role” in the bank’s “activities and decision-making process.”
US officials in 2008 imposed sanctions on three Iranian banks, including Bank Mellat, accusing them of financing weapons proliferation.
Thursday’s announcement includes the First East Export Bank PLC, a Mellat subsidiary based in Labuan, Malaysia.
The executive order authorizing the move “freezes the assets of designated proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their supporters and prohibits US persons from engaging in any transaction with them,” the Treasury Department said.
–PTI