Iran uses UK bank accounts to escape from sanctions, Financial Times says

Iran used the British bank Lloyds and the British branch of Santander, the Spanish bank, to transfer money and evade US sanctions, according to the Financial Times newspaper.

The banks reportedly opened accounts for dummy companies based in the United Kingdom, but in reality, these were linked to a petrochemical company controlled by Tehran, subject to US sanctions since 2018, as per the financial documents reviewed by the newspaper.

The report states that this company is part of a "network accused by the United States of collecting millions of dollars for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and working on behalf of Russian intelligence agencies to raise funds for militias loyal to Iran."

A spokesperson for Santander in the UK told AFP that the bank "has not violated any US sanctions according to our investigations," emphasizing compliance with sanctions-related requests and proactive cooperation with British and US authorities.

Lloyds spokesperson told AFP that the British bank's activities "are carried out by sanctions laws" and cannot provide information on specific clients or suspicious activities reported to authorities due to legal restrictions.

A source close to Lloyds affirmed that the client mentioned in the report is not subject to British or US sanctions. Immediate comments from the British government were not available.

AFP