Central Bank asks for data on money transfers to Iran

UAE banks have not halted bank transfers to sanctions-hit Iran and have been asked by the Central Bank to provide data on such transfers this week, the Arabic language daily Alkhaleej reported on Monday.

The paper said the Central Bank sent a circular to the country’s 23 national banks and 28 foreign units this week asking them to supply it with information on all their financial transfers to Iran for August.

“The Central Bank gave the banks a deadline until Tuesday to provide such data.…it warned them that it would take supervisory measures against any banks which fail to meet that deadline,” the paper said.

Alkhaleej rebuffed a report by Agence France Presse (AFP) on Sunday that most UAE banks have stopped financial remittances to Iran following the latest round of UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear programmes.

“Banking sources confirmed that the Central Bank circular noted that money transfers to Iran have not stopped since July,” the paper said.

It noted that the Central Bank, in a previous circular, has asked local banks to provide information on the expected impact of the sanctions on their financial operations with Iran, the largest regional re-export market for the UAE.

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