Iran reportedly used two of the UK’s largest banks to circumvent sanctions. Santander UK and Lloyds allegedly provided accounts to shell companies belonging to sanctioned Iranian petrochemical companies.
The Iranian state-run Petrochemical Trading Company (PCC) was part of a network accused by the US of raising hundreds of millions of dollars for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Force and working with Russian intelligence agencies to fund Iranian proxy militias.
Both PCC and its British subsidiary PCC UK have been subject to sanctions by the American government since November 2018.
Lloyds said it did not believe it had breached any sanctions laws and that its business was conducted to ensure compliance with financial crime laws.
‘We are not authorised to comment on individual customers,’ a spokesman said. ‘Also, due to legal restrictions, we are also unable to comment on when and how reports of suspicious activity will be submitted to the relevant authorities.’
The company later issued a further statement: ‘We believe we have fulfilled all legal and regulatory obligations and, based on our own investigation, we do not believe we have breached any sanction requirements.’
A spokesperson for Santander UK issued the following statement: ‘We are unable to comment on specific customer relationships. Santander complies with its legal and regulatory obligations and we are highly focussed on sanctions compliance. Where we identify sanctions risks, we will investigate them and take appropriate action.’
In its own follow-up message, Santander said its investigation showed that it had not violated US sanctions.
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