Santander Spain: No Violations of US Sanctions Against the Islamic Republic Found in Broader Review

On Tuesday, February 13, Santander Spain responded to a recent report by the British newspaper Financial Times, stating that after a thorough review, the bank found 'no instances of violations of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic.' Earlier, the Financial Times reported that the Iranian government had exploited two major banks, Lloyds and Santander in the UK, for covert money transfers worldwide as part of a broad sanctions evasion network. Santander and Lloyds immediately denied any violations in separate statements. Lloyds affirmed its commitment to comply with economic crime laws, while Santander stated that it has procedures in place to ensure compliance with sanctions requirements. According to Reuters, in an internal memo first reported by Bloomberg, the head of global communications at Santander mentioned that a broader review related to the individuals and entities mentioned in the Financial Times article had been conducted. He stated, 'No instances of sanctions violations were found in any other part of the bank's global operations.' Santander Spain clarified that an account related to the petrochemical trading company and PCC UK was closed in 2022 for unrelated reasons and emphasized that there were no sanctions against the account holder or owners. The stock values of Lloyds and Santander fell on Monday, February 5, a day after the Financial Times report that the Iranian government had used accounts at these banks in the UK to circumvent sanctions. The Financial Times: The Islamic Republic used two major British banks to evade sanctions. German media: The Islamic Republic used a company in Germany to evade sanctions. The US sanctioned several companies in Turkey and Lebanon due to ties with Hezbollah and the IRGC. A senior US Treasury official traveled to the Middle East to combat the 'evasion of sanctions' by the Islamic Republic. The identities of thousands of buyers of Dominica's golden passports, including at least five Iranians accused of violating sanctions and economic corruption, were disclosed.