US Targets Turkish Bank in Fresh Bid to Isolate Iran's Oil Revenue

The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on Istanbul-based Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi, along with two of its subsidiaries, for allegedly helping Iran move oil revenue and access the international financial system.

The designation was made under Operation Economic Outcast, which aims to target financial institutions that help Iran generate and move revenue. The Treasury Department accused Golden Global Bank of facilitating tens of millions of dollars in transactions for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and providing correspondent-banking access.

The bank's role in Iran's sanctions-evasion network is significant, as it was established to help transfer oil revenue from China to Turkey, where it could be converted into cash and gold. The Treasury Department also said the bank provided services to Iranian financial institutions and accounts controlled by the IRGC-QF and its proxies.

Andrew Sobotka, a former senior sanctions coordinator at the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), warned that third-country financial institutions should be thinking about what their correspondent banks might expect from them. He said this designation should signal to these institutions that the administration is serious about using multiple tools in its economic security toolbox.