Bank Mellat
Government of Islamic Republic of Iran (%16.99)
Atieh Mellat Fund (%6.44) Saba Tamin Investment Co. (%5.57) | |
Number of employees | 19,876 (2019) |
---|---|
Subsidiaries | Mellat Investment Bank, Persia International Bank |
Website | en |
Bank Mellat (
The bank's capital amounted[when?] to Rls 13,100 billion and it was one of the largest commercial banks in the Islamic Republic of Iran, ranking among the top 1000 banks of the world.[citation needed]
In 2007 the Iranian government started the process of privatising the bank as part of a policy of selling 80% of state-owned stakes in banking, media, transportation and mining companies.[3]
The Bank Mellat London branch was merged with the Bank Tejarat branch to form
Sanctions and court actions
The
On 29 January 2013, the
A related action in the British courts was taken to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in March 2013, causing the court to hold a closed hearing for the first time.[8] In June 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that the UK government's sanctions on the bank had been unlawful with one justice stating that targeting Bank Mellat was "irrational and disproportionate".[9][10] Bank Mellat is claiming damages from the UK government for the loss of business between 2009 and 2013.[11] The damages hearing was scheduled for June 2019, with Bank Mellat seeking damages of $1.7 billion.[12] On the first day of the trial the parties agreed a settlement for a confidential sum.[10][13] The Times later reported that £1.25 billion plus interest was paid to Bank Mellat, through a third country entity to avoid US sanctions.[14][15] However the British government stated in parliament "the amount paid in respect of the settlement was €91,352,709.35", plus £1 million for legal costs.[16]
References
- ^ "Top 100 Iranian Companies". Archived from the original on 2018-06-12.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-03-09. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Iran to sell 80pc of Bank Mellat". Dawn. Karachi. AFP. 11 December 2007. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
- ^ "Iranian Banks". The United States department of the Treasury. Archived from the original on 2008-05-30.
- ^ "Iran bank to sue EU after winning sanction list case". Reuters. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ^ Ulrich Unterweger (4 April 2013). "General Court rulings on Iranian Banks threaten to torpedo EU's foreign policy ambitions". European Law Blog. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ^ "European Union and United Kingdom Sanctions Update: March 2016". K&L Gates. 17 March 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
- ^ Maya Lester (21 March 2013). "First ever closed hearing in the UK Supreme Court - Bank Mellat's case". Global Sanctions - Law and practice. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ^ Lester, Maya (20 June 2013). "UK Supreme Court quashes Order against Bank Mellat". Global Sanctions blog. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
- ^ a b Jane Croft; Andrew England; Sarah Provan (18 June 2019). "UK settles £1.3bn lawsuit with Iran's Bank Mellat after 10 years". Financial Times. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
- ^ Colin Freeman (18 August 2013). "Iranian bank sues over sanctions". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
- ^ Cross, Michael (18 March 2019). "Court of Appeal rejects Iranian bank's secrecy plea". Law Society Gazette. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- ^ Ridley, Kirstin (18 June 2019). "Britain settles sanctions dispute with Iran's Bank Mellat". Reuters. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
- ^ Philp, Catherine (4 October 2019). "UK dodged sanctions to settle with Iranian Bank Mellat". The Times. London. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ^ "Iran claims 'victory' after bank compensated by Britain". France 24. AFP. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ^ Glen, John (14 October 2019). "Bank Mellat:Written question - 337". House of Commons. UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 July 2020.