US sanctions Turkish bank over alleged Iran-linked transactions
Golden Global Bank denies US Treasury allegations and says it will pursue legal action against sanctions restricting its access to the US financial system.
The United States Treasury Department has sanctioned Golden Global Bank and two subsidiaries over alleged links to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and the movement of Iranian oil revenues.
The Treasury Department alleges the bank facilitated tens of millions of dollars in transactions for the IRGC-Qods Force and provided Iranian government entities with international banking access. It also claims the institution helped transfer oil revenues from China to Turkey through gold and cash.
The sanctions place Golden Global Bank and its subsidiaries on the US Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Specially Designated Nationals list, cutting off their access to the US financial system. Washington says the action forms part of its broader “Operation Economic Outcast” campaign to economically isolate Iran.
Golden Global Bank rejected the allegations, saying it had complied with local and international banking rules. The bank said no transactions it conducted substantiated the US claims and that it would pursue legal action against the sanctions.
The bank also said the individuals and entities named in the OFAC decision had never been, and were not currently, its customers. The allegations and the scale of the claimed transactions have not been independently established in the supplied material.
US Ambassador to Turkiye Tom Barrack said the measure targeted one institution and should not be read as a judgement on the Turkish financial system. The US recently took action against UAE operations of an Egyptian bank over alleged Iran-linked transactions.
