RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesUS Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced further sanctions against Iran on Aug 24.
DUBAI - The United Arab Emirates’ central bank said it will investigate Banque Misr after the US Treasury Department moved to cut off the Egyptian bank’s UAE branches from the US financial system as part of sanctions against Iran.
The UAE central bank said in a statement it “has decided to conduct a special and urgent examination” of the bank’s transactions during a more than two-year period referenced in the US announcement on Aug 28.
The US Treasury Department called Banque Misr UAE “a critical node for the Iranian regime’s access to US dollars” and estimated it processed about US$1.8 billion between January 2024 and June 2026 for 103 companies “that are potentially part of Iranian shadow banking networks”.
The Central Bank of the UAE said its investigation “includes a forensic/in-depth lookback covering the period referred to in the statement issued by the US authorities, with a focus on banking transactions of the companies mentioned in the statement”.
Banque Misr issued a statement saying that it “affirms its full respect” for the process and the laws and will fully cooperate with the probe. It added that it would continue to provide banking services to customers.
The central bank “expects banks licensed in the UAE not to expose the UAE’s financial system to reputational risks,” according to the statement. The central bank said it is looking at options regarding Banque Misr’s status if the US measure takes effect, while taking into consideration the bank’s obligations to customers in the UAE. BLOOMBERG
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