Obama-era license aimed to let Iran convert money in dollars

[Hoodat]

Obama-era license aimed to let Iran convert money in dollars

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration secretly sought to give Iran access — albeit briefly — to the U.S. financial system by sidestepping sanctions kept in place after the 2015 nuclear deal, despite repeatedly telling Congress and the public it had no plans to do so.

An investigation by Senate Republicans released Wednesday sheds light on the delicate balance the Obama administration sought to strike after the deal, as it worked to ensure Iran received its promised benefits without playing into the hands of the deal’s opponents. Amid a tense political climate, Iran hawks in the U.S., Israel and elsewhere argued that the United States was giving far too much to Tehran and that the windfall would be used to fund extremism and other troubling Iranian activity.

The report by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations revealed that under President Barack Obama, the Treasury Department issued a license in February 2016, never previously disclosed, that would have allowed Iran to convert $5.7 billion it held at a bank in Oman from Omani rials into euros by exchanging them first into U.S. dollars. If the Omani bank had allowed the exchange without such a license, it would have violated sanctions that bar Iran from transactions that touch the U.S. financial system.

The effort was unsuccessful because American banks — themselves afraid of running afoul of U.S. sanctions — declined to participate. The Obama administration approached two U.S. banks to facilitate the conversion, the report said, but both refused, citing the reputational risk of doing business with or for Iran.

https://apnews.com/27e8179cf10140dca7eb86b3488f01e2/APNewsBreak:-Secret-Obama-era-license-let-Iran-tap-dollars



This is high treason.  Obama using his power to help Iran with money-laundering.  Of course US banks balked.  They know a clear RICO violation when they see it.   It galls me to no end to know that there are people out there who believe Obama was a good President.

[Restored]

But...but....The Philadelphia Eagles. The Russians. Melania.

[WingNot]

The Philadelphia Eagles. The Russians. Melania.

Oh My!

[txradioguy]

The Obama administration granted a license letting Iran access the United States financial system despite officials’ pledges that they would prohibit it, according to a draft report from the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

“On Feb. 24, 2016, the Treasury Department issued a specific license to Bank Muscat to authorize the conversion of Iran’s rials to euros through ‘any United States depository institution …,’” the draft report said. “Even after the specific license was issued, U.S. government officials maintained in congressional testimony that Iran would not be granted access to the U.S. financial system.”

“The Obama administration during the negotiation of the Iran deal misled the American people,” said Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), subcommittee chairman. “I think they did so because they were desperate to get a deal.”

When the nations involved in the Iran nuclear agreement implemented the deal, Iran had $5.7 billion in assets at Bank Muscat in Muscat, Oman, maintained as Omani rials, according to the subcommittee. Iran wanted to access that money, and using the U.S. financial system to convert it “was the most efficient means, even though U.S. sanctions prohibited it,” according to the report.

Government officials tried to convince two U.S. banks to execute the conversion. They both declined, citing the complexity and the unwanted appearance involved in processing an Iranian transaction, according to the report.

Without a compliant American bank, a senior State Department official said he believed Bank Muscat and Iran eventually used European banks to convert the funds, said the committee.

Portman said his subcommittee began investigating the transaction last summer. In an interview with an unnamed senior State Department official, the panel said, the official acknowledged that the administration “’exceeded our JCPOA commitments’ because there was nothing in the JCPOA that required the issuance of the specific license,” according to the report. (JCPOA is the acronym for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran.)


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/06/06/obama-administration-allegedly-gave-iran-access-to-us-financial-system.html

[mystery-ak]

Obama secretly gave Iran access to US financial markets: Senate report
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/obama-secretly-gave-iran-access-to-us-financial-markets-senate-report

[txradioguy]

No wonder the Iranians are desperate to hang onto this deal.

The more that is revealed about how truly bad this deal was the more it become evident what Trump means by it was a bad deal and goes a long way to prove that pulling us out of it was an excellent move on his part.

[WingNot]

Obama secretly gave Iran access to US financial markets: Senate report
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/obama-secretly-gave-iran-access-to-us-financial-markets-senate-report

"A State Department official even suggested that Secretary Kerry or Secretary Lew should contact the U.S. banks and encourage them to facilitate the conversion," the report said. "Both banks declined to complete the transaction due to compliance, reputational, and legal risks associated with doing business with Iran."

Sounds like these bank CEO didn't Trust Obumer to cover them if the shit hit the fan over laundering Iranian currency.   Wise move.