ECJ holds that being the central bank in Iran is enough to justify EU sanctions

11/04/16

The Central Bank of Iran won its challenge to its original EU sanctions listing in 2011 because the EU institutions had no evidence to support their allegation that it was involved in activities to circumvent sanctions. The EU then re-listed the Central Bank (as is its common practice) after the central bank had won that case, this time on the grounds that the it provides financial support for the Government of Iran (which, by 2012, had become sufficient to justify being added to the list of entities whose assets were frozen in the EU).  The European Court of Justice has just upheld that re-listing, on the grounds that, even though the evidence showed no wrongdoing by the bank, no transfer of funds from the bank to the Government, and no link with Iran’s nuclear programme, central banks by definition provide financial support for governments.  The Central Bank has now been de-listed because of the Joint Common Plan Of Action (the Iran nuclear / sanctions agreement). Analysis of the JCPOA and the Central Bank judgments are on www.europeansanctions.com