US imposes sanctions on Turkish bank, prompting legal threat

US sanctions Turkish bank over alleged IRGC ties, accusing it of facilitating millions in transactions for Iran.

US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent speaks during a news conference at the close of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting on its final day in Asheville, NC [AFP]

The United States Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on a Turkish bank and its subsidiaries over alleged ties to Iran, as Washington seeks to economically isolate Tehran.

The Treasury Department accused Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi (Golden Global Bank) on Friday of facilitating “tens of millions of dollars’ worth of transactions for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force” and providing the Iranian government with banking access to move its funds internationally.

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Washington alleged the bank “was established for the purpose of enabling Iran’s rahbar network [shadow banking system] to transfer oil revenues from China to Turkey” using gold and cash.

Golden Global Bank responded on Friday, saying it fulfilled all local and international banking compliance rules and would take legal action against the US-imposed sanctions.

There are no transactions conducted by Golden Global Bank that could substantiate the claims made by the US, the bank said in a news release.

“We will exercise all our rights of objection and legal recourse in the most effective manner and will take the necessary actions at the earliest against these allegations and the decision,” the Turkish bank added.

“Financial institutions continue to find out the hard way that we are serious about Operation Economic Outcast,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent in a statement published by the department on Friday.

The sanctions place the bank and its two subsidiaries on the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)’s Specially Designated Nationals list, cutting off access to the US financial system.

The bank said individuals and entities named in the OFAC decision “have never been and are not currently customers” of Golden Global.

US Ambassador to Turkiye Tom Barrack said on Saturday that it would be a mistake for Turkish officials “to read [the US’s] narrow measure as a judgement upon Turkiye”.

“The health of the Turkish financial system is not in question; the conduct of one institution was,” Barrack said on X.

Last week, the US took steps towards severing the UAE operations of Egypt’s second-largest bank from financial access after accusing it of processing transactions for companies linked to Iran’s shadow-banking system.

Bessent said on Tuesday on the sidelines of a G20 summit that Washington would likely announce a bank sanction this week and another next week, as it ramps up its economic campaign against Tehran.

美国以涉嫌与伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队有关联为由，对一家土耳其银行实施制裁，指控该银行为伊朗提供了数百万美元的交易便利。

美国财政部长斯科特·贝森特在二十国集团财长和央行行长会议闭幕当天于北卡罗来纳州阿什维尔举行的新闻发布会上发表讲话。[法新社]

美国财政部以涉嫌与伊朗有关联为由，对一家土耳其银行及其子公司实施制裁，华盛顿方面试图在经济上孤立德黑兰。

美国财政部周五指控 Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi（金环球银行）为“伊斯兰革命卫队圣城旅”提供了价值数千万美元的交易便利，并为伊朗政府提供了在国际上转移资金的银行渠道。

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华盛顿方面声称，该银行“成立的目的是为了让伊朗的影子银行系统能够利用黄金和现金将石油收入从中国转移到土耳其”。

金环银行周五回应称，该行已遵守所有本地和国际银行合规规则，并将对美国实施的制裁采取法律行动。

金环银行在一份新闻稿中表示，该行没有任何交易可以证实美国方面的说法。

“我们将以最有效的方式行使所有反对权和法律救济权，并将尽快对这些指控和决定采取必要行动，”该土耳其银行补充道。

“金融机构仍在以惨痛的代价发现，我们对‘经济排斥行动’是认真的，”财政部长斯科特·贝森特在周五财政部发布的一份声明中表示。

制裁措施将该银行及其两家子公司列入美国外国资产控制办公室 (OFAC) 的特别指定国民名单，切断了它们进入美国金融体系的渠道。

该银行表示，OFAC 决定中提到的个人和实体“过去不是，现在也不是”金环银行的客户。

美国驻土耳其大使汤姆·巴拉克周六表示，土耳其官员如果“将（美国的）狭隘措施解读为对土耳其的评判”，那就大错特错了。

“土耳其金融体系的健康状况没有问题；有问题的是一家机构的行为，”巴拉克在X上说道。

上周，美国采取措施切断埃及第二大银行在阿联酋的业务，使其无法获得金融服务，此前美国指控该银行为与伊朗影子银行系统有关联的公司处理交易。

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