OFAC CHARGES THAT MASTERCARD HELD IRANIAN BANK MONEY FOR A DECADE, FAILED TO BLOCK IT

In a press release filed recently, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued a Finding of Violation against MasterCard International, charging that the credit card giant, when faced with a 2007 Blocking Order on Iran, failed to properly block accounts of two major Iranian Banks, Bank Melli, and Bank Saderat. OFAC found that the company's compliance program lack sufficient internal controls to have prevented, or later identified, the violations.

Readers who wish to review the complete text of the Enforcement Information, can do so here.

The matter raises the issue: how many Western businesses were holding funds of sanctioned Iranian entities when sanctions were imposed, and how many neglected, or ignored, blocking regulations, continuing to hold the money their accounts ?

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