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🇮🇱 Israel /Economy & Trade

US sanctions Turkish bank and two subsidiaries to increase pressure on Iran

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Official statement New plan
  • The US Treasury Department sanctioned Turkish investment bank Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi and two subsidiaries over alleged support for Iran’s shadow banking network.
  • The sanctions cut the entities off from the dollar-based financial system, while a general license allows transactions to be wound down.
  • Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington may sanction another bank the following week as the administration seeks to pressure Tehran back to negotiations.

The United States has targeted a Turkish investment bank and two affiliated companies in its latest effort to squeeze Iran’s financial network. The Treasury Department said on Friday that Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi, Golden Global Portfoy Yonetimi and Golden Global Varlik Kiralama had been placed on its Specially Designated Nationals list.

The move effectively cuts the three Istanbul-based entities off from the dollar-based financial system. The Treasury also issued a general license allowing parties to wind down transactions with the sanctioned companies.

Treasury officials allege that Golden Global was created to help Iran’s shadow banking network move oil revenues from China to Turkey, where money exchangers could convert the funds into cash and gold. The department also said the bank knowingly offered correspondent banking services to Iranian financial institutions, enabling transactions through accounts controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Qods Force and its proxies.

is code for you are out of business.

· Scott BessentThe US Treasury secretary described the practical effect of sanctions on the targeted entities.

In an interview with America’s Voice News, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the action bluntly: “is code for you are out of business.” He added, “And we will probably sanction another bank next week, and we are telling the financial system bad actors: ‘We know who you are, you know who you are, it’s over, and our allies are helping with this.’”

Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi ranked as Turkey’s 35th-largest bank by total assets in 2025, with assets listed at 25,024.68 million Turkish lira, or about $516.63 million, by TheBanks.EU. The bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The action follows a separate US move targeting Banque Misr’s UAE branches over dealings with Iran, though that measure stopped short of full sanctions on the Egyptian lender.

And we will probably sanction another bank next week, and we are telling the financial system bad actors: 'We know who you are, you know who you are, it's over, and our allies are helping with this.'

· Scott BessentBessent said Washington expects to continue imposing sanctions on financial institutions linked to Iran.
About this summary

Originally published by Jerusalem Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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