Arabic version: تركيا تلغي رخصة تشغيل بنك ملت في إسطنبول

According to Al Jazeera, Turkiye’s banking watchdog has revoked the operating licence of Iranian lender Bank Mellat’s branch in Istanbul. The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) published its decision in the Official Gazette on Saturday, stating that it had decided to revoke the licence of “Bank Mellat, Head Office in Tehran, Istanbul Turkey Central Branch”.

The regulator said it acted under a clause in Turkiye’s banking law that permits a bank’s licence to be revoked or withdrawn when its continued operation is considered a risk to depositors’ rights or to the security and stability of the financial system. The Turkish notice did not cite United States measures against Bank Mellat or identify specific operational issues behind the decision.

Bank Mellat has faced Western sanctions for years over accusations that Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapon under the cover of a civil nuclear programme. The sanctions were lifted under the 2015 agreement between Tehran and world powers intended to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The United States withdrew unilaterally from that agreement in May 2018 and reimposed economic sanctions on Iran.

In 2019, Bank Mellat was subject to further US and Gulf sanctions after being named among 25 entities linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Earlier this month, the US Treasury Department also sanctioned Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi, a small Turkish investment bank, and two subsidiaries over alleged ties to Iran. The department accused Golden Global Bank of facilitating transactions for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and providing Iran’s government with banking access to move funds internationally. Golden Global Bank denied the accusations.