The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has blacklisted First East Export Bank, a Malaysia-based financial institution OFAC says is a subsidiary of Iran's state-owned Bank Mellat. At the same time, OFAC targeted Ali Divandari, the chairman of Bank Mellat. Both were designated pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which freezes the assets of designated "proliferators of weapons of mass destruction" and their supporters, and prohibits US persons and entities from doing business with them.
"Today's action will help to protect the integrity of the US financial system and ensure that banks and regulators around the world are aware that First East Export Bank is in fact an arm of Bank Mellat, an institution that has supported Iran's nuclear program in violation of UN Security Council resolutions," said Stuart Levey, under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
According to OFAC, Bank Mellat has facilitated the movement of millions of dollars for Iran's nuclear
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