Brussels, 16/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 15 March, the Council of the EU further developed the application of EU restrictive measures against Iran, “which include asset freezes on persons and entities associated with Iran's nuclear activities”. The Council agreed by written procedure that “no specialised financial messaging shall be provided to those persons and entities subject to an asset freeze”. The decision, which affects several operators in the EU, was published in the EU Official Journal of 16 March.
The Brussels-based global secure financial messaging services supplier SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) announced on Thursday that it had received instructions to discontinue its communications services to Iranian financial institutions that are subject to European sanctions. “This EU decision forces SWIFT to take action”, said Lázaro Campos, SWIFT Chief Executive. “Disconnecting banks is an extraordinary and unprecedented step for SWIFT”, he added. The EU-sanctioned Iranian financial institutions and the SWIFT customer community have been notified of the disconnection, which will become effective on Saturday 17 March at 16.00 GMT.
Foreign Ministers agreed sanctions against the Iranian central bank and other financial institutions on 23 January. EU restrictive measures have been imposed on 116 people and 442 companies connected to the Iranian regime. (CG/transl.rt)