The United States has imposed sanctions on a Turkish bank and two subsidiaries, accusing them of helping Iran move oil revenues from China through Turkey and providing financial access to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force.
The action against Istanbul-based Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi was announced by the US Treasury on Friday, September 4, as part of President Donald Trump’s campaign to isolate Tehran from international finance.
Golden Global Bank and its subsidiaries, Golden Global Portfoy Yonetimi and Golden Global Varlik Kiralama, have been added to the Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals list. Their property under US jurisdiction is blocked, while US individuals and companies are generally prohibited from dealing with them.
The Treasury said the bank had facilitated tens of millions of dollars in transactions for the Quds Force, the overseas operations arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. It alleged that the institution had provided correspondent banking services to Iranian financial bodies and enabled funds to be transferred internationally.
US officials also accused Golden Global of being established to assist Iran’s so-called rahbar shadow banking network in moving oil proceeds from China to Turkey, where the money could be converted into cash and gold.
The bank has rejected the allegations. In a statement reported by Al Jazeera, it said it had complied with local and international banking rules and that no transactions had taken place which could substantiate the US claims. It said it would pursue legal remedies against the sanctions.
The measures form part of “Operation Economic Outcast”, launched by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on August 24. Washington has warned banks and businesses in countries still trading with Iran that they risk losing access to the US financial system if they help Tehran evade sanctions or launder money.
“Financial institutions continue to find out the hard way that we are serious about Operation Economic Outcast,” Mr Bessent said in a Treasury statement.
The latest action follows US steps against the UAE operations of Egypt’s Banque Misr last week. Washington restricted the bank’s activities but stopped short of imposing full sanctions, underscoring the pressure facing the administration as it seeks to target Iran without provoking a wider financial confrontation with major trading partners.
US ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said the move should not be interpreted as a judgement on the country as a whole. “The health of the Turkish financial system is not in question; the conduct of one institution was,” he said.
The sanctions were announced a day after Turkey’s state-owned Halkbank said it had reached a settlement with the US Justice Department in a long-running case over alleged violations of Iran sanctions.
US prosecutors had accused senior Halkbank officials of helping to move about $20 billion in Iranian oil revenues, with Turkish government figures allegedly receiving bribes to protect the scheme. The case had strained relations between Washington and Ankara, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lobbying for it to be abandoned.
