The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned Golden Global Bank, an Istanbul-based institution, alleging it moved substantial funds from Chinese purchases of Iranian oil to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This action marks an escalation of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's "Operation Economic Outcast," a strategy aimed at intensifying economic pressure on Iran to compel a peace deal or induce regime collapse.
"Financial institutions continue to find out the hard way that we are serious about Operation Economic Outcast," Bessent stated. He added that "while we hope no more banks will need to be sanctioned, that ultimately depends on how quickly the international community comes to its senses and ceases support of the murderous Iranian regime."
Golden Global Bank, founded in 2019, presents itself as an investment bank operating under interest-free finance principles. According to financial information website TheBanks.EU, the bank is Turkey's 35th largest, with assets equivalent to approximately $517 million, holding less than a tenth of a percent of the market share.
Treasury officials indicated that the bank was reportedly established as part of Iran's "rahbar" exchange network, a series of front organizations designed to transfer oil revenues from China to Turkey. In Turkey, these funds could allegedly be converted to cash and gold. The department asserted that Golden Global Bank and its subsidiaries facilitated tens of millions of dollars in transactions for the IRGC's Qods Force and provided the Iranian regime with essential correspondent banking access for international fund transfers.
This action is believed to be the first time the U.S. has sanctioned a bank in Turkey. In 2019, Manhattan federal prosecutors had charged Turkey's fourth-largest bank, Halkbank, with aiding Iran in evading sanctions, a case that concluded with a legal settlement earlier this year.
The sanctions aim to disconnect Golden Global Bank from the global financial system and, according to the Treasury, have "severed the Iranian regime’s critical financial lifelines" within Turkey. It remains unclear whether the Turkish government will take reciprocal measures to seize the bank's assets.