Photo: Collected
Turkey has revoked the licence of ‘Bank Mellat’, one of Iran’s largest private banks. This was disclosed in the official gazette published early on Saturday. News agency AFP reported this from Ankara.
The step was taken following a decision by Turkey’s banking regulator. The Tehran-based bank provides financial support to the Iranian government. According to OpenSanctions, an open database of information on sanctioned entities, the bank is under sanctions from the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom. The database further says the bank’s largest shareholder is the Iranian government.
In revoking the licence, the Turkish regulator cited section 71(b) of the banking law. That section says that if an institution’s ‘activities continue, the rights of depositors and participation fund holders and the security and stability of the financial system will be endangered.’
Turkey took this step two weeks after Washington imposed sanctions on a Turkish bank over its alleged ties with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). However, it is not immediately clear whether there is any link between the two events.
