VZCZCXRO4538
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDIR RUEHKUK RUEHTRO
DE RUEHC #5821/01 3141440
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 101434Z NOV 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD IMMEDIATE 9513
INFO IRAN COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 115821 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KNNP MNUC IR GM XF ZP ZR XG XT IZ
SUBJECT: IRAQ,S LICENSING OF BANK MELLI BRANCHES 
 
REF: A. A. STATE 75291 
     ¶B. B. BAGHDAD 2075 
     ¶C. C. STATE 43381 
     ¶D. D. 08 BAGHDAD 02156 
     ¶E. E. 08 STATE 063693 
 
 ¶1.  (U) This is an action request.  Please see paragraph 
three. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶2.  (SBU) Recent press reports have noted that Iran is 
actively working to expand its banking relationships with its 
Middle Eastern neighbors.  Iraq has been one focus for 
Iranian banks, and the Government of Iraq has granted a 
license for Bank Melli to open branches in Basra, Karbala, 
and Irbil.  The U.S. has demarched Iraq several times 
regarding Iran's banking presence in Iraq (REFTEL), but the 
Government of Iraq continues to allow the banks to expand 
their presence.  At a time when responsible states and banks 
are decreasing their economic dealings with Iran, allowing 
Iranian banks subject to international sanctions to expand 
their operations in Iraq is not a prudent step.  Their 
presence may represent a threat to Iraq's security, given 
Iran's history of using its banks to move funds 
internationally to support terrorist organizations and WMD 
proliferation.  Moreover, allowing sanctioned Iranian banks 
to expand their presence in Iraq represents a reputational 
risk to Iraq's banking system at the same time 
that the Government of Iraq is attempting to attract foreign 
investment to help rebuild the country.  The U.S. urges Iraq 
to reconsider the licenses for any US-designated banks, 
especially Bank Melli's Baghdad branch and its planned 
branches in Basra, Karbala and Irbil, or at a minimum, to 
subject Bank Melli operations in Iraq to appropriate 
vigilance. 
 
------------------------- 
OBJECTIVES/ACTION REQUEST 
------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Washington requests Post deliver the talking points 
and non-paper in paragraph 4 to appropriate host government 
officials in the Prime Minister's office.  Post should pursue 
the following objectives: 
 
-- Remind the GOI that the continued operation of Bank Melli 
and other Iranian banks in Iraq could threaten the integrity 
of the Iraqi banking system, could provide Iran a conduit to 
circumvent UN sanctions, and could cause Iraq to violate UN 
sanctions itself. 
 
-- Remind the GOI that the U.S. and the E.U. have imposed 
sanctions on Bank Melli, including freezing Bank Melli 
assets, and that many countries and banks continue to reduce 
their business with Bank Melli and all Iranian banks given 
the risk of their involvement in illicit conduct. 
 
-- Highlight to the GOI that if it allows Bank Melli to 
expand its operations in its jurisdiction, those branches 
would be subject to designation and asset freeze by the U.S. 
as well. 
 
-- Reinforce the Financial Action Task Force's October 2009 
warning that Iran's lack of engagement and failure to address 
its lack of anti-money laundering /combating the financing of 
terrorism (AML/CFT) controls represents a serious threat to 
the integrity of the international financial system.  The 
FATF's October 2009 statement is its seventh one on Iran. 
 
-- Remind the GOI that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards 
Corps (IRGC) and IRGC-Qods Force, who channel funds to 
militant groups that target and kill Coalition and Iraqi 
forces and innocent Iraqi civilians, have used Bank Melli and 
other Iranian banks to move funds internationally.  Bank 
Melli used deceptive banking practices to obscure its 
involvement from the international banking system by 
requesting that its name be removed from financial 
transactions when handling financial transactions on behalf 
of the IRGC. 
 
-- Educate the GOI on the reputational risk that the presence 
of Bank Melli in Iraq poses for U.S., European and Asian 
banks considering doing business in Iraq. 
 
 
STATE 00115821  002 OF 003 
 
 
-- Remind the GOI that allowing Bank Melli and other Iranian 
banks to operate in Iraq undermines its efforts to attract 
foreign capital to contribute to the rebuilding and 
development of Iraq. 
 
-- Remind the GOI that UNSCR 1803 calls on all states to 
exercise vigilance over the activities of financial 
institutions in their territories with all banks domiciled in 
Iran, including, in particular, Bank Melli, and that it is in 
Iraq's own interest to do so strongly and not minimally. 
 
-- Emphasize that Iranian state-owned banks have a history of 
using deceptive financial practices to support illicit 
activity. 
 
-- Offer U.S. advice and assistance in implementing 
supervision and controls. 
 
----------------------- 
BACKGROUND AND NONPAPER 
----------------------- 
 
¶4.  BEGIN NON-PAPER 
 
--  (U)  Recent press reports have noted that Iran is 
actively working to expand its banking relationships with 
neighboring states, as many international banks have decided 
to end their financial connections to Iran due to the risk of 
financing proliferation-related activities.  Iraq has been 
one focus for expanding Iranian bank branches.  Bank Melli 
has had a branch in Baghdad since 2007, and the Government of 
Iraq has granted a license for Bank Melli to open additional 
branches in Basra, Karbala, and Irbil. Despite several 
demarches warning of the risks of expanded financial 
relationships with Iran in the past 18 months (REFTEL), your 
government granted the license and Bank Melli is taking steps 
toward opening the new branches.  The licensing and continued 
operation of Bank Melli branches in Iraq threatens the 
integrity of the Iraqi banking system, and could provide Iran 
a conduit to circumvent UN sanctions. 
 
--  (U)  The United States and the European Union have 
imposed sanctions on Bank Melli, to include a freeze of Bank 
Melli's assets.  Many financial institutions around the world 
have reduced their business with Bank Melli and all other 
Iranian banks given the risk of these banks participating in 
proliferation-related transactions.  If Iran uses Iraqi banks 
as alternative conduits for transactions related to funding 
terrorism or nuclear proliferation, this would damage the 
international reputation of Iraq's banks and their ability to 
expand their access to the international financial system. 
 
 
-- (U) The UN Security Council unanimously adopted UNSCRs 
1737 and 1747, which require UN Member States to apply 
targeted sanctions to entities and individuals designated in 
the resolutions for their involvement with Iran's 
proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities or ballistic 
missile program.  Member States are required to prevent the 
provision of financial assets or economic resources to 
designated individuals/entities, and to freeze their assets 
as well as those of entities "owned or controlled" by them or 
persons/entities acting on their behalf (operative paragraph 
12 of UNSCR 1737).  Consistent with these obligations, UN 
Member States should ensure that financial services provided 
to Iranian banks are not used by designated 
entities/individuals to circumvent the restrictions 
unanimously adopted by the UNSC in UNSCRs 1737 and 1747. 
 
--  (U)  On October 11, 2009, the Financial Action Task Force 
(FATF) issued another statement warning of the risk of doing 
business with Iranian banks.  The statement cautioned that 
Iran's lack of engagement and failure to address its lack of 
anti-money laundering /combating the financing of terrorism 
(AML/CFT) controls represents a serious threat to the 
integrity of the international financial system.  FATF urged 
all jurisdictions to advise their financial institutions to 
give special attention to business relationships and 
transactions with Iran, including Iranian companies and 
financial institutions.  FATF also called on members to take 
into account ML/FT risks when considering requests by Iranian 
financial institutions to open branches and subsidiaries in 
their jurisdiction.  If Iran does not take concrete steps to 
address FATF's concerns, it will consider calling on its 
members to strengthen countermeasures in February 2010. 
 
-- (U) Bank Melli and other Iranian banks represent a 
potential threat to the security of Iraq, as well as to the 
international financial system.  The IRGC and IRGC-Qods 
Force, which have provided lethal support to militant groups 
in Iraq, have sometimes used Bank Melli and other Iranian 
 
STATE 00115821  003 OF 003 
 
 
banks to deceptively move funds internationally.  Bank Melli 
and other Iranian banks might be used as a conduit for 
funding militant activities that undermine Iraq's sovereignty 
and stability. 
 
--  (U)  Moreover, the presence of Bank Melli and other 
Iranian banks in Iraq will pose a significant reputational 
risk to the Iraqi financial sector at a time when the GOI is 
courting U.S., European and Asian banks to do business in 
Iraq.  The recent U.S.-Iraq Business and Investment 
Conference that the Prime Minister attended highlighted the 
significant contribution that foreign private investment can 
have on Iraq's reconstruction and economic development. 
However, the presence of Bank Melli and other Iranian banks 
creates significant risks for U.S. and other international 
banks considering entering into correspondent relationships 
with Iraqi banks or opening branches in Iraq.  Banks may be 
subject to severe monetary penalties and risk damage to their 
reputations as a result of transactions involving Bank Melli 
or other Iranian banks. 
 
-- As an example of these risks, in January 2009, the U.S. 
Department of Justice and the Manhattan District Attorney's 
Office imposed a $350 million penalty on Lloyds TSB Bank for 
processing transactions involving Bank Melli and other 
sanctioned Iranian banks.  This action followed cases such as 
an $80 million penalty on ABN AMRO Bank N.V. by U.S. federal 
and state regulatory authorities, in which the violations 
included transactions by its Dubai branch involving Bank 
Melli.  If the government of Iraq does not address the 
concerns of international banks about the risks created by 
Iranian banks and the ability of Iraq to police its own 
financial system, then it will undermine its efforts to 
attract foreign capital to contribute to the rebuilding and 
development of Iraq. 
 
--  (U)  UNSCR 1803 calls on member states to exercise 
vigilance over the activities of their financial institutions 
with banks domiciled in Iran, in particular with Bank Melli 
and Bank Saderat, to avoid transactions contributing to 
nuclear proliferation.  Beyond the requirements of UNSCR 
1803, Iraq has its own interest in exercising vigilance over 
Bank Melli and other Iranian banks.  If the government of 
Iraq continues to allow Bank Melli to operate in Iraq, then 
at a minimum, it should focus appropriate supervisory 
attention and controls on Bank Melli's operations.  The 
Government of Iraq should keep in mind that Iranian 
state-owned banks have a history of using deceptive financial 
practices to support illicit activity, and that the 
operations of multiple branches in Irbil, Karbala and Basra 
will be more difficult to subject to scrutiny. 
 
--  (U)  The United States urges your government and 
institutions to reconsider the decision to grant Bank Melli 
additional licenses to operate in Iraq and to exercise 
increased vigilance regarding all activity between Iraqi and 
Iranian financial institutions.  The United States is willing 
to provide advice and assistance in your government's efforts 
to implement increased vigilance. 
 
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REPORTING DEADLINE 
------------------ 
 
¶5.  (U) Post should report results within seven business days 
of receipt of this cable.  Please slug replies for ISN, T, 
TREASURY, and NEA.  Please include SIPDIS in all replies. 
 
---------------- 
POINT OF CONTACT 
---------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) Washington point of contact for follow-up information 
is Kevin McGeehan, ISN/CPI, (202) 647-5408, 
McGeehanKJ@state.sgov.gov. 
 
¶7. (U) Department thanks Post for its assistance. 
CLINTON