Cases have been reported in the recent months of using the transit corridor of the Islamic Republic of Iran for importing goods from some Asian countries, to reduce the significantly increased transport costs due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Banking transactions directly/indirectly related to the Islamic Republic of Iran and/or goods of Iranian origin, under the full-scale US sanctions against Iran, including banking settlements related to the transportation of cargo through the territory of Iran and/or by means of transport registered in Iran (air, sea, land, rail), may be considered a violation of international sanctions imposed by the US. In the framework of correspondent relations of the banking sector, such transactions create a risk of delay in carrying out FX transactions overseas.

 

In order to comply with the requirements of the international sanctions imposed by the US, commercial banks are obliged to implement enhanced preventive measures against entities related to Iran, as well as to perform enhanced monitoring of transactions related to Iran, and not to perform similar transactions, if they detect the risk of violating the sanctions.

 

A regulation has been developed with the involvement of the National Bank of Georgia and commercial banks that sets out detailed requirements for commercial banks to significantly reduce the risks of violating the requirements of international sanctions. The document is mandatory for all commercial banks and serves to reduce the risks related to international correspondent relations and to comply with the sanctions. In addition, commercial banks are authorized to use even stricter control mechanisms according to their internal policies and procedures.