US Seizes Iranian Assets Citing 'Deceptive Financial Practices'

These fellows in New York, Washington, and London hate to see any amateurs engaging in deceptive financial practices without an official license or the right markings.

When the Iranians get good enough to move past merely practicing deception into the big leagues of world class professional fraud, and start playing ball with the big boys maybe the Iranian central bank can sign up for the primary dealer slot recently vacated by MF Global.

It is hard to imagine that Iran even has any assets remaining in the US or in any of their foreign branches.

The repatriation of assets and gold overseas is starting to gain some momentum, based on a fresh wave of vaporization concerns. Unless you're talkin about German gold which is on semi-permanent loan to Wall Street.

Bloomberg
Obama Freezes Iranian Government, Central Bank Assets
By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan
February 06, 2012, 11:47 PM EST

Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama ordered a freeze on all Iranian government and central bank assets held in the U.S. or any foreign branch of a U.S. entity, the White House said today.

The president cited “deceptive practices” of the Iranian central bank and an “unacceptable risk” to the international financial system from Iranian activities.

Previously, only assets belonging to sanctioned Iranian entities or individuals were frozen. The order, signed by the president yesterday, blocks all property and interests in property belonging to the Iranian government, its central bank, and all Iranian financial institutions, even those that haven’t been specifically designated for sanctions by the U.S. Treasury.

Longstanding U.S. regulations already prohibited American citizens or entities from virtually all direct and indirect transactions involving Iran or its government, aside from those exempted under general licenses for transactions involving food, medicine, remittances and humanitarian relief.

The measure was mandated as part of Iran sanctions legislation that was passed by Congress and signed by the president Dec. 31.

“I have determined that additional sanctions are warranted, particularly in light of the deceptive practices of the Central Bank of Iran and other Iranian banks to conceal transactions of sanctioned parties, the deficiencies in Iran’s anti-money laundering regime and the weaknesses in its implementation, and the continuing and unacceptable risk posed to the international financial system by Iran’s activities,” Obama said in his congressional notification...