blocked money Archives - Iran News Daily

Iran Has Frozen Assets in 21 Countries

mahla — Sun, 02 May 2021 05:32:43 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) –Iran Has Frozen Assets in 21 Countries. Iranian-born economic adviser to the European Union Mehrdad Emadi believes Iran’s major deposits and blocked money are in Russia as the country transferred over $31b of its money into the Russian banks and in return it received Russian currency roubles which was a strange move which led to decline of its value by 40 percent.

Speaking to ILNA, Emadi talked about the current talks between Iran and Western countries and its effects on the economy, and said the current talks in Vienna are progressing well as the negotiators have reached an agreement on four out of the six items.

He noted the main difference between Iran and the U.S. is that Iran wants all sanctions are removed but the U.S. President is not allowed to do so because some of them have been approved by the Congress.

He continued that the U.S. Treasury is preparing the ground to put an end to the sanctions on Iran’s banking sector but it does not mean Iran’s return to the international system because both the SWIFT and E3 emphasize that as long as Iran does not join the FATF it cannot enjoy unlimited banking services.

Emadi said that Iranian team should work on removal of sanctions on energy, banking and transportation and of course Iran has added some more priorities like removal of sanctions on the military and intelligence individuals and this has made the talks more complicated and it may be a brake.

He said he believes Iran should focus on removal of sanctions on major three sectors then during the next talks, they can expand it to the individuals and other issues because removal of sanctions on these sectors can have positive effects on the people’s lives.

Emadi noted that the impacts of removing sanctions on the public and control of the inflation may be seen in the next 15 years and on the unemployment in the next two years.

On the possibility of unblocking Iran’s frozen assets, he said that he does not know the exact amount of Iran’s blocked money but according to some records in 2019, Iran in 21 countries each has deposits more than half a billion dollars.

He claimed that Iran has transferred major part of its dollars to Russia and has received roubles in return which has been a strange move as it has reduced the value of the deposit.

He claimed Iran has over $30b in different accounts in China and it can only use its money through buying Chinese goods which is not a good option for Iran.

Emadi noted that Iran has also blocked money in the UAE, Turkey, South Korea, Cyprus, Greece, India, Malta, Malaysia and Singapore, adding that Iran has started opening accounts in Macao and Hong Kong in the past five years.

He went on to say that according to the available information, Iran has over $88b frozen money and if the money is released and used in transfer of technology, it will boost economic security and sustainable growth.

He noted that retaking money from Russia and China is not easy but it is not impossible and Iran needs an expert legal team dominant on the economic issues for retaking its money.

The post Iran Has Frozen Assets in 21 Countries appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Iran Urges South Korea to Pay Debts

reporter 1222 — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 10:09:24 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson warned South Korea that if it refuses to pay off its debts under the “inadmissible” pretext of obeying the US sanctions, Tehran will take other appropriate measures.

In remarks at a press conference on Monday, Seyed Abbas Mousavi said South Korea has been explicitly informed that their excuses for refusing to settle the debts to Iran are unacceptable and not admissible in any court.

“South Korea does not have to comply with the US sanctions… We want them to clear their debts as soon as possible. If we see the openings (for settlement of debts) being closed, we will definitely put other measures on the agenda,” he added.

Iran is not hit by the UN sanctions, but a bullying country has imposed embargoes on Iran, the spokesman underlined, adding, “As an independent state, South Korea is not obligated to implement those (US) sanctions.”

In June, Hossein Tanhaee, the chairman of Iran and South Korea’s joint chamber of commerce told Borna news agency that Iran’s frozen assets in South Korea were between $6.5 billion and $9 billion.

Tanhaee added that not only Korean banks refuse to release Iran’s money, some of them have also demanded commission and maintenance fees for Iran’s accounts.

The post Iran Urges South Korea to Pay Debts appeared first on Iran News Daily.

South Korea to Unblock Parts of Iran’s Frozen Money

reporter 1222 — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 04:33:14 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – A senior Iranian trade official said South Korea has agreed to unblock parts of Iran’s frozen money kept by Seoul due to the US economic sanctions.

Hossein Tanhaei, chairman of Iran-South Korea Chamber of Commerce, said the money will “not be return in cash” but maybe “in form of imports of drugs and medical items,” the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) reported on Tuesday.

“No talks have been held about returning the frozen money in cash but the second part of the money will possibly be unblocked in form of the gradual imports of foodstuffs and animal feed,” Tanhaei exclusively told ILNA.

He added he had no idea about the volume of the agreement, adding “It depends on our efforts, and I hope that with the coordination made by the Ministry of Health and the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), we will be able to return a large portion of the money.”

On June 12, Tanhaei announced Iran’s frozen assets in South Korea were between $6.5 billion and $9 billion.

Trade relations between Iran and South Korea have sharply declined under the US pressures.

Reacting to the decreased Tehran-Seoul trade ties, President Hassan Rouhani had said: “South Korea’s ban on Iran’s use of its central bank resources to buy basic goods, medicine, and humanitarian items is by no means acceptable, and we expect Seoul to lift this restriction as soon as possible.”

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in May that preliminary steps had been taken to set up a channel to allow Iran to use funds in South Korea to buy humanitarian goods. Weeks later South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Seoul was sending $500,000 worth of medicine to Iran.

According to a report by Press TV on July 7, the Iranian rial has regained some of its lost value after the CBI governor announced the country would be able to access parts of its funds that have been blocked aboard because of US sanctions.

The post South Korea to Unblock Parts of Iran’s Frozen Money appeared first on Iran News Daily.