Info:
Bank Melli is Iran’s largest bank, wholly owned by the government of Iran, that provides financial support for entities engaged in Iran’s nuclear and missile programs;
Bank Melli is designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 for assisting in, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to or in support of, the IRGC-QF, which was previously designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 on October 25, 2007. As of 2018, the equivalent of billions of dollars in funds have flowed through IRGC-QF controlled accounts at Bank Melli. Bank Melli has acted as a conduit for payments to the IRGC-QF. The IRGC-QF has used Bank Melli to dispense funds to Iraqi Shia militant groups, and Bank Melli’s presence in Iraq was part of this scheme. Since the mid-2000s, Bank Melli increasingly provided services to Iranian military-related entities as they became further involved in all aspects of the Iranian economy. Bank Melli has enabled the IRGC and its affiliates to move funds inside and outside of Iran. The IRGC was designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 on October 13, 2017;
Bank Melli has also provided financial services to MODAFL, which was designated pursuant to E.O. 13382 on October 25, 2007;
IFIC and Bank Melli owns shares in Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector;
Named in U.N. Security Council resolution 1803 of March 3, 2008, as a bank domiciled in Iran, with respect to which (and its branches and subsidiaries abroad) financial institutions should “exercise vigilance” due to concerns that activities involving the bank could contribute to proliferation sensitive nuclear activities or to the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems;
According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, provides banking services to entities involved in Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, including those designated by the United Nations for their involvement in the programs, has facilitated numerous purchases of sensitive materials for Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, by providing a range of financial services such as opening letters of credit and maintaining accounts, clients have included the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Qods Force, and entities controlled or owned by them, as well as Bank Sepah, Defense Industries Organization, and Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group (SHIG);
In 2007 and 2008, was involved in transactions facilitated by the Bank of East Land with North Korea’s Green Pine Associated Corporation, one of North Korea’s primary arms dealers, facilitated the transfer of at least $100 million to the Qods Force from 2002 to 2006, requesting that its name be removed from financial transactions involving the IRGC, and taking care not to identify Bank Sepah in transactions after the latter was designated under U.N. Security Council resolution 1747;
Has reportedly been one of the primary banks used by Khatam al-Anbiya, an entity controlled by the IRGC, in 2007, reportedly facilitated a transaction for a shipment from North Korea consigned to Bank Sepah, as well as transactions from companies associated with Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO). In 2007, was also reportedly listed as the consignee for purchases for a company affiliated with Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group (SBIG). Has reportedly sent payments to European suppliers using First International Merchant (FIM) Bank of Malta as an intermediary;
Co-owns the 650 Fifth Avenue Company in New York, in cooperation with Alavi Foundation. In 1989, established two shell companies, Assa Corporation and Assa Company Limited, to disguise its ownership of 650 Fifth Avenue Company, until 2013, operated the company through the two shell companies and received rental income generated from it, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and Iranian Transactions Regulations;
Handles a large share of the Iranian government’s foreign currency payments, and provides foreign exchange payment services; facilitates money transfers related to petrochemicals between Iran and Russia through its Moscow-based subsidiary Mir Business Bank C.J.S.C (Bank Melli Iran ZAO);
Industry:
Banking Sector
Involved In:
Nuclear Weapon Program
Missile Weapon Program
Military Program
Also Known As:
Bank Melli Iran
BMI
National Bank of Iran
Melli Bank
Established:
1928
Country:
Iran
Address:
Bank Melli Iran Central Depts, Ferdowsi Ave., Tehran, Iran
Ferdowsi Avenue – PO Box 11365-171, Tehran, Iran;
43 Avenue Montaigne, Paris 75008, France;
Room 704-6, Wheelock Hse, 20 Pedder St, Hong Kong;
Bank Melli Iran Bldg, 111 St 24, 929 Arasat, Baghdad, Iraq;
PO Box 2643, Ruwi, 112, Muscat, Oman;
PO Box 2656, Liva Street, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates;
Postfach 112 129, Holzbruecke 2, 20421, Hamburg, Germany;
23 Nobel Avenue, Baku, Azerbaijan;
Bank Melli Iran Building, Ferdowsi Avenue, Tehran 11365-144, Iran;
Al Ashar Estiqlal Street – Hal Al Zohor, Basra, Iraq;
98a Kensington High Street, London W8 4SG, United Kingdom;
767 5th Ave, 44th Fl, New York, NY 10153, United States;
PO Box 1420, New York, NY 10153, United States
Phone:
98 (21) 6649 7820;
98 21 33231
Website:
www.bmi.ir
www.bmi.ir
www.bankmelli-iran.com
www.bankmelli.de (Hamburg Branch)
www.bmi.co.ae (Dubai Regional Office)
E-mail:
info@bmi.ir
pr@bmi.ir
Subsidiaries:
Arian Bank (Kabul, Afghanistan);
Mir Business Bank C.J.S.C (Moscow, Russia);
Melli Bank Plc (London, United Kingdom);
Future Bank (Bahrain);
Bank Kargoshaee;
Tose-E Melli Group Investment Company;
Tose-E Melli Investment Company;
National Industries and Mining Development Company;
Behshahr Industrial Development Corp.;
Cement Industry Investment and Development Company;
Melli International Building & Industry Company;
BMIIC International General Trading LLC;
Shomal Cement Company;
Persian Gulf Sabz Karafarinan;
Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector;
Bank Melli Printing and Publishing Company;
Bank Melli Iran Investment Company;
Person of interests:
Dr. Abdolnaser Hemmati (Chairman and CEO);
Jamal Damghanian;
Mohammad Reza Hossein Zadeh;
Seyed Valliallah Fatemi Ardakani;
Barat Karimi;
Gholamreza Panahi;
Articles/Reports:
Bonyad Mostazafan – Report
EU banks into Russian Roulette
Reason for the color:
» Added to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on November 5, 2018 pursuant to Executive Order 13224 for assisting in, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to or in support of, the IRGC-QF;
» Removed from the OFAC, SDN list in January 2016 as part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action;
» Added to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on October 25, 2007;
» Removed from the European Union Iranian sanctions list as an entity linked to Iran’s proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities or Iran’s development of nuclear weapon delivery systems;
» Listed by the European Union on June 23, 2008 as an entity linked to Iran’s proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities or Iran’s development of nuclear weapon delivery systems;
» Listed by the British government in 2015 as an entity of potential concern for WMD-related procurement;