Iran's Bank Mellat is claiming GBP500 million ($782 million) from the U.K. Treasury after a London court ruled against a British decision to sanction the bank, a defense lawyer said Sunday.
Iran
's
Bank Mellat is claiming GBP500 million ($782 million) from the U.K. Treasury
after a
London
court
ruled against a British decision to sanction the bank, a defense lawyer said
Sunday.
The claim underscores the financial risks faced by Western governments as they
seek to enforce sanctions over
Iran
's
controversial nuclear program.
The U.K.'s "Supreme Court has referred [the claim] to the High Court so it
can assess the loss" to Mellat due to sanctions, said lawyer Sarosh
Zaiwalla, a senior partner at Zaiwalla and Co. LLP, who represents the bank.
In June, the
U.K.
's
highest court ruled against sanctions that had been imposed on Bank Mellat,
Iran
's
largest private bank, as a result of its alleged links to
Tehran
's
nuclear program. The
London
ruling follows a similar decision in favor of Bank Mellat at a European Union
court. But it won't lead to an end to restrictions against the bank for now
because EU sanctions remain in place on Mellat. A spokesman for the U.K.
Treasury said it had not received any claim and it would "robustly"
contest any demand for compensation.
The
U.K.
sanctioned Mellat in 2009, banning its operations in the country and freezing
its assets after it was accused of facilitating
Iran
's
nuclear program. The measure was expanded to the rest of the European Union the
following year.
The sanctions against the bank were part of a vast arsenal of restrictions
imposed by the international community on
Iran
over
its nuclear program. They included an EU embargo on Iranian oil and a U.S. ban
on dealing with the country's central bank. Western nations accuse
Iran
of
developing an atomic weapon, while
Tehran
says
its nuclear program is peaceful.
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