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USA`s list of designated entities features two Iranian banks registered in Belarus

Two Iranian banks registered in Belarus, Trade Capital Bank and Onerbank, have been on the United States’ list of designated entities for 18 months.

The former bank is fully owned by Iran. In Onerbank, Iran holds 97 percent.

The Treasury Department slapped sanctions on the two banks, along with 19 other Iranian-backed firms, on August 3, 2010 in an attempt to increase pressure over Tehran`s controversial nuclear program and its alleged support for radical groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.

On January 23, the US and the European Union took steps to cut off from the international financial system Bank Tejarat, Iran’s third-largest bank, which held 97 percent in Trade Capital Bank as of 2010.

The bank was designated for providing financial services to the country’s banks and companies that are under international sanctions for involvement in Iran’s nuclear and missile proliferation, said Bloomberg. Financial institutions anywhere in the world that do business with the bank risk being cut off themselves from the US financial system, according to it.

The Treasury Department said that Bank Tejarat had facilitated the movement of tens of millions of dollars in an effort to assist an effort by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran to acquire uranium. The AEOI is the main Iranian organization for research and development of nuclear technology and manages fissile material production programs. //BelaPAN