US Sanctions Turkish Bank Over Alleged Iran Financial Ties

DID Press: The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned Golden Global Investment Bank in Turkey and two affiliated companies, accusing them of facilitating tens of millions of dollars in transactions for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and providing access to international banking channels.

The Treasury said the Istanbul-based bank helped facilitate the transfer of Iranian oil revenues from China to Turkey, where the funds could be converted into cash and gold. Washington said the bank also provided correspondent banking services to Iranian financial institutions linked to the IRGC-QF.

The sanctions also target Golden Global Portföy Yönetimi and Golden Global Varlık Kiralama, two Turkey-based subsidiaries of the bank. The entities have been added to the U.S. Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals list, blocking their U.S.-linked assets and generally prohibiting transactions involving them by U.S. persons.

Golden Global Bank has rejected the allegations and said it complies with applicable regulations. The bank has indicated that it will pursue legal action against the decision.

The U.S. action is part of the Trump administration’s broader “Operation Economic Outcast” campaign to cut Iran off from financial channels that Washington says help Tehran evade sanctions and generate or transfer oil revenues. U.S. officials have stressed that the measure is directed at the designated institutions rather than Turkey’s financial system as a whole.