UAE Orders Urgent Review of Banque Misr After US Flags $1.8 Billion in Iran-Linked Transfers
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 30
UAE Orders Urgent Review of Banque Misr After US Flags $1.8 Billion in Iran-Linked Transfers
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 30
Summary
The UAE central bank said it will carry out a “special and urgent examination” of Banque Misr’s local operations after the US accused the Egyptian state-owned lender of helping Iran evade sanctions.
US Treasury said Banque Misr’s UAE branches processed about $1.8 billion in potentially shadow-banking transactions from January 2024 to June 2026 and proposed cutting those branches off from US financial institutions.
Banque Misr said it was taking the allegations with “utmost seriousness,” would cooperate with Treasury, and said any US action would affect only its UAE branches, not operations in Egypt or elsewhere.
Treasury also sanctioned a manager at an Emirati branch of Iran’s Bank Melli and a Hong Kong company, widening pressure on networks it says channel funds to Iran’s defense ministry and Revolutionary Guards.
The move sharpens scrutiny of the UAE—especially Dubai—as a long-standing trade hub for Iran, even after Abu Dhabi this month said it was halting all trade and financial transactions with Tehran.