US sanctions Turkish bank over Iran oil revenue transfers

September 8, 2026 at 11:00 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

The US Treasury on September 4 designated Istanbul-based Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi and two subsidiaries for allegedly helping Iran move oil revenue and access the international financial system. The entities were added to the Specially Designated Nationals list, cutting them off from the US financial system. Treasury also issued a general license allowing transactions to be wound down.

Key Facts

The US Treasury designated Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi, Golden Global Portfoy Yonetimi, and Golden Global Varlik Kiralama under Iran sanctions authorities on September 4.
The three entities were added to the Specially Designated Nationals list, cutting them off from the US financial system.
Treasury issued a general license allowing transactions involving the entities to be wound down.
Treasury said Golden Global Bank facilitated tens of millions of dollars in transactions for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.
Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi rejected the US allegations and said it has complied with local and international banking requirements.

Sanctions Designation

The US Treasury Department on September 4 designated Istanbul-based Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi, along with Golden Global Portfoy Yonetimi and Golden Global Varlik Kiralama, under its Iran sanctions authorities. The three entities were added to the Treasury's Specially Designated Nationals list, effectively cutting them off from the US financial system. Treasury also issued a general license allowing transactions involving the entities to be wound down.

Operation Economic Outcast

The action is part of the Trump administration's newly intensified Operation Economic Outcast, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said will target financial institutions and other channels that help Iran generate and move revenue. Bessent said financial institutions were continuing to "find out the hard way" that Washington was serious about the campaign. He warned that further action would depend on whether international institutions stopped supporting what he called the "murderous Iranian regime."

Iran's Shadow Banking Network

Treasury said Golden Global Bank had facilitated tens of millions of dollars in transactions for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and provided correspondent-banking access that enabled Iranian funds to move internationally. According to Treasury, the bank was established to help Iran's "rahbar" shadow-banking network transfer oil revenue from China to Turkey, where the proceeds could then be converted into cash and gold. Treasury also said the bank provided services to Iranian financial institutions and accounts controlled by the IRGC-QF and its proxies, including those linked to Turkish businessman Sitki Ayan, whose network was sanctioned by Washington in 2022 over hundreds of millions of dollars in IRGC-QF-related oil sales. Andrew Sobotka, a former senior sanctions coordinator at the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control and now a senior adviser at risk-analytics firm Kharon, told RFE/RL that the designation should be viewed as a warning to financial institutions in countries that continue to conduct business with Iran.