Iran Cash in Turkey Accumulating – Difficulty to Get Money Out
Turkish bankers told Reuters on Friday that the tightening U.S.
sanctions are killing off Turkey's gold-for-gas trade with Iran.
Turkey, Iran's biggest natural gas customer, has been paying Iran for its imports with Turkish lira, because sanctions prevent it from paying in dollars or euros. Iranians then use those lira, held in state-run Halkbank accounts, to buy gold in Turkey, and couriers carry bullion worth millions of dollars in hand luggage to Dubai, where it can be sold for foreign currency or shipped to Iran. New U.S. sanctions that went into effect on 6 February now prevent the sales of precious metals to Iran.
Turkey, Iran's biggest natural gas customer, has been paying Iran for its imports with Turkish lira, because sanctions prevent it from paying in dollars or euros. Iranians then use those lira, held in state-run Halkbank accounts, to buy gold in Turkey, and couriers carry bullion worth millions of dollars in hand luggage to Dubai, where it can be sold for foreign currency or shipped to Iran. New U.S. sanctions that went into effect on 6 February now prevent the sales of precious metals to Iran.
“Halkbank can only accept payments for Turkish oil and gas purchases and
Iran is only allowed to buy food, medicine and industrial products with that
money,” said a senior Turkish banker. (Reuters, 15 February)
“The gas for gold trade is very difficult after the second round of sanctions. Iranians cannot just withdraw the cash and buy whatever they want. They have to prove what they are buying ... so gold exports will definitely fall,” the banker told Reuters.
“The gas for gold trade is very difficult after the second round of sanctions. Iranians cannot just withdraw the cash and buy whatever they want. They have to prove what they are buying ... so gold exports will definitely fall,” the banker told Reuters.
“With so many restrictions, Iran's cash may accumulate in Halkbank
accounts... they may have difficulty getting some of that money out of Turkey,”
another senior Turkish banker told Reuters.
Halkbank has also stopped processing other countries’ oil payments to
Iran. A portion of India’s payments to Iran was processed through Halkbank
until now. The new sanctions prevent Halkbank from processing those payments.
File photo: Turkey's Halkbank headquarters in Ankara (REUTERS/Umit Bektas)
File photo: Turkey's Halkbank headquarters in Ankara (REUTERS/Umit Bektas)
Look at the bright side of things.No matter how brutal the regime,it still requires loads of money.Without the huge quantity of cash to pay off their goons and mozdors they will wither away into dust.
ReplyDeleteThis by far is the best possible way to deal with these moftkhors va ghatels who are stealing Iran's wealth to enrich their bank accounts and giving our money away to Islamic terrorists and dictators in Lebanon and Syria and gods knows where else.
Maybe it will be better, according your logic, to subsidize the Zionist entity and its proxies as well the servants, after YOU will remove those "moftkhors va ghatels...".
DeleteApparently, YOU will also be willing to provide the benefits to partners of the same sex mariages and support claims (like in the US) that a state has no obligation to provide dental care in the health care packages...
A-F
Zionist banks must be crying since Iran by-passes them. LOL.
ReplyDeletethat is my opinion too
Deletewhy we need Halkbank to buy gold ?
just go a goldtrader, purchase bar of gold, put in your laggage and take the plane to teheran.
many people do it
Obama rules over you Iranians!!!
ReplyDeleteWhgy iran needs turk bank to purchase Gold ?
ReplyDeletethere are some thousands iranian companies working in turkey.
every of then can buy gold and export it to iran.
Iranian companies are after german companies the second largest foreign investors in turkey.