U.S. Imposes New Sanctions in Sixth Month of War With Iran, Targeting Egyptian Bank's UAE Branch

[Financial News] On the 28th local time, the sixth month since the war with Iran began, the United States unveiled a new round of sanctions targeting banks linked to Iran.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department), said it had proposed a rule to block the United Arab Emirates (UAE) branch of Bank Misr, Egypt's second-largest bank, from accessing the U.S. financial system as part of Iran's 'Operation Economic Outcast.'
The Treasury Department said Bank Misr UAE was "a key channel for the Iranian regime to access the U.S. dollar." It added that it estimates the branch processed about $1.8 billion for 103 companies that may have been part of Iran's shadow financial network from January 2024 through June this year.
According to the Treasury Department, Bank Misr's clients included front companies clearly used by Iran's Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to evade U.S. sanctions, as well as companies used to launder funds on behalf of Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, "We have warned that those supporting Iran can no longer access the U.S. dollar and the global financial system." He added, "Bank Misr UAE chose to look for a harsh way forward, and today we are taking the first step toward holding this bank accountable for its continued and improper support for the Iranian regime."
The measure applies only to Bank Misr's UAE branch. Dollar transactions through its Cairo headquarters and other overseas branches in Paris, Frankfurt, Riyadh, Beirut and Djibouti may continue.
On the same day, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) separately sanctioned Reza Mohammad Taedi, the head of Melli Bank's Dubai branch in the UAE, and Kamen Trading Limited in Hong Kong.
[email protected] Kim Dong-chan Reporter