On 10th May, the US Treasury published a news release saying that the 2 countries had jointly took action to disrupt an extensive currency exchange network in Iran and the UAE that has procured and transferred millions in US dollar-denominated bulk cash to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF). OFAC has designated 9 Iranian individuals and entities. The Treasury said that Iran’s Central Bank was complicit in the IRGC-QF’s scheme and actively supported this network’s currency conversion and enabled its access to funds that it held in its foreign bank accounts. This network of exchangers and couriers is said to have converted hundreds of millions of dollars. The news release reminds one that the IRGC-QF was designated in October 2007 and the IRGC itself also designated in October 2017. The allegations include mention of forged documents, use of front companies and money exchangers in UAE, as well as retrieving oil revenue for Iran from foreign states.
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm0383
Details of the 6 individuals and 3 entities designated by OFAC can be found at –
https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20180510.aspx
A diagram of the currency exchange network is available at –
https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/irgc_currency_exchange_en.pdf
