Over six days on the stand, a star witness for the FBI spun a stunning tale of corruption and double-dealing. Looking nervous and somber, the FBI’s star witness entered from the lockup and shuffled across the New York federal courtroom in a beige prison smock. The Turkish-Iranian gold trader took a seat at the witness […]

OFAC has issued a Finding of Violation to Dominica Maritime Registry Inc. (DMRI), headquartered in Massachusetts, for a violation of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations. In particular, OFAC determined that on 4 July 2015, DMRI had violated the Regulations by having “[dealt] in the property or interests in property of the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), an entity […]

An international anti-money laundering group wants government financial intelligence agencies to give extra scrutiny to transactions and business relationships involving Iran and North Korea. Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said on Friday that it remained “particularly and exceptionally concerned” about what it called Iran’s “failure to address the risk of terrorist financing and the […]

Implementation Day – the day when a range of sanctions against Iran are due to be lifted – is now thought to be imminent. The publication of further US and EU guidelines and responses to FAQs on the sanctions is also expected in the coming days. Almost six months following the signature of the Joint […]

CMS has issued its first edition of our Sanctions Update, an at-a-glance roundup of recent developments in relation to economic and trade sanctions, with a particular focus on recent developments concerning Iran and Russia. It is hoped that you will find this update useful in keeping you up to speed in this constantly evolving area […]

The London office of Reed Business Information sold critical data that helped sanctioned banks funding chemical and nuclear weapons in Syria and Iran make complex international transactions. A BuzzFeed News Investigation unravels the web. The Middle East salesman had been wrestling with his conscience for more than a month when the barrel bombs broke and […]

In Mellat v HM Treasury [2015] EWHC 1258 (Comm), the High Court considered preliminary issues in a claim for damages by Bank Mellat (Mellat), an Iranian bank, under section 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) for loss and damage to its UK subsidiary caused by the Financial Restrictions (Iran) Order 2009 (the 2009 […]

On April 2, 2015 representatives from the US, EU and Iran announced that, following extensive negotiations, the “P5+1” (China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK and the US) and Iran had agreed parameters (the “Parameters”) for a joint comprehensive plan of action regarding Iran’s nuclear program (the “JCPOA”). Whilst the final provisions of the JCPOA have […]