Brussels, 13/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - The EU Court of Justice has dismissed the appeal against the judgment of the General Court which upheld the inclusion of the UK subsidiary of Bank Melli Iran in the list of entities engaged in nuclear proliferation, further to a ruling on Tuesday 13 March.
Melli Bank is a public limited company registered in the United Kingdom, wholly owned by Bank Melli Iran (BMI), an Iranian bank controlled by the Iranian state. In order to implement a UN Security Council resolution in the context of measures against Iran to prevent nuclear proliferation, the Council adopted, in 2007, a regulation providing for the freezing of the funds of entities engaged in nuclear proliferation. The entities concerned appear on a list annexed to the regulation. On 23 June 2008, the Council adopted a decision under which BMI and its subsidiaries, including Melli Bank, were included on that list. Their funds were consequently frozen. Melli Bank brought an action for annulment of that decision before the General Court. In 2009, the General Court dismissed that action, upholding the decision to freeze the funds. Melli Bank then brought an appeal against that judgment of the General Court. With its ruling, the Court dismisses the appeal, considering that the General Court did not err in law. (LC/transl.jl)