Germany holding Iranian assets due to new US sanctions – MP

By  Trend

Following Washington’s pullout from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, the German government seized a portion of Iran’s foreign exchange assets due to the threat of new US sanctions against Tehran, an Iranian lawmaker said.

"After the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, it seemed wrong to trust Europeans," Mohammad Dehqan said, according to Fars news agency.

However, the move by the Germans to seize Iranian assets proved that they are not trustworthy, he added.

The lawmaker further called on the government not to trust Europe, pursue the issue and return the assets as soon as possible.

On January 20, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) sued a subsidiary of German stock-exchange operator Deutsche Borse for holding $4.9 billion of Iranian assets.

According to the Deutsche Borse at the time, the CBI had filed a complaint against Clearstream at a court in Luxembourg where the post-trade services provider is based.

Deutsche Borse said Iran’s central bank wants Clearstream and Italian bank Banca UBAE SpA to return its assets plus interest in addition to damages worth the same amount.

The assets sought reportedly include about $1.9 billion which Clearstream has turned over to the US to "compensate" around 1,000 Americans claiming damage from Iran over a 1983 bombing in Beirut and another attack in 1996 in Saudi Arabia.

The CBI further sought around $2 billion in customer assets which are held at Clearstream and are subject to similar appropriation in the US and Luxembourg.