Iran ink secret memorandum with British; CEO of Bank Mellat
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Iran Mellat Bank Mohammad Bigdeli said to ILNA news agency that we have a secret memorandum with the British on how to get compensation.
Without referring to the details, he added that we will announce the details of this agreement later.
Bigdeli stressed, “We don't want to get goods instead of compensation.”
The UK government has made a last minute out-of-court deal to settle a £1.3bn damages claim made by an Iranian bank over a UK trading ban.
The Iranian government owns 20% of Bank Mellat, while the remaining 80% is held by the private sector.
In 2009, the UK Treasury alleged that the Tehran-based bank was involved in financing firms involved in Iran’s nuclear programme – allegations that the bank denies – and imposed sanctions on Bank Mellat.
The settlement comes six years after the supreme court ruled that the sanctions had been unlawful and that the government’s response had been “arbitrary and irrational”, and “disproportionate”.
Bank Mellat argued that the sanctions had damaged its reputation and goodwill in Britain and internationally, and caused significant loss.
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