MBaer Provides Financial Support to Iran and Russia
WASHINGTON-Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) proposed a rule that, if finalized, would sever MBaer Merchant Bank AG (MBaer’s) access to the U.S. financial system as a result of its financial support to illicit actors linked to Russia and Iran. If finalized, the proposed rule would prohibit covered U.S. financial institutions from opening or maintaining a correspondent account for, or on behalf of, MBaer.
“MBaer has funneled over a hundred million dollars through the U.S. financial system on behalf of illicit actors tied to Iran and Russia,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “Banks should be on notice that the U.S. Treasury will aggressively protect the integrity of the U.S. financial system using the full force of our authorities.”
Since its inception, MBaer and its employees have enabled money laundering and illicit finance activities, including by facilitating corruption linked to Russian money laundering and money laundering and terrorist financing on behalf of Iran-aligned foreign terrorist organizations, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Quds Force. MBaer is a critical access node to the U.S. dollar for a wide variety of illicit actors, putting U.S. national security at risk and undermining the integrity of the U.S. financial system.
Under section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act, FinCEN, upon finding that reasonable grounds exist for concluding that a financial institution operating outside of the United States is of primary money laundering concern, may require covered financial institutions to take certain “special measures.” Today, FinCEN published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) setting out this finding and proposing to impose special measure five, which would prohibit covered domestic financial institutions from opening or maintaining a correspondent account for or on behalf of MBaer. Written comments on the NPRM may be submitted within 30 days of its publication in the Federal Register.
Whistleblower Program
FinCEN maintains a whistleblower incentive program for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and certain sanctions and national security laws. Individuals who provide actionable information may be eligible for awards if their tip leads to a successful enforcement action. FinCEN encourages individuals with relevant information to submit whistleblower tips and learn more about FinCEN’s Whistleblower Program on its website: https://www.fincen.gov/whistleblower-program .