In Washington, D.C., U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent led a public-private partnership event aimed at preventing Iran from accessing the global financial system. The initiative, part of FinCEN’s “Iran Maximum Pressure and Counter Terrorism” (IMPACT) Exchange series, brought together 16 significant global financial institutions and federal law enforcement agencies. The event primarily focused on addressing Iran’s extensive global oil and “shadow banking” networks.
Such events are integral to the Treasury’s efforts in implementing President Trump’s National Security Presidential Memorandum-2 (NSPM-2). The memorandum emphasizes the United States’ policy of exerting maximum pressure on Iran to eliminate its nuclear threat, limit its ballistic missile program, and halt its support for terrorist organizations.
Secretary Bessent reassured the public of his commitment to preventing Iran and its terrorist allies from accessing the U.S. dollar and the international financial system. He stated, “Iran continues to conduct its foreign exchange activities through a covert shadow banking network, and my message to financial institutions worldwide is unequivocal: safeguard your institutions from being exploited by this malign network, so you can continue to serve your legitimate clients with integrity.”
The event provided the financial sector with insights into the challenges of complying with U.S. sanctions on Iran and the evasion techniques used by Iran’s “shadow banking” networks. These networks are illicit multi-jurisdictional systems that allow sanctioned Iranian entities access to international finances and obscure trade with foreign customers. Participants engaged in discussions to share best practices and investigative findings to protect the U.S. financial system from misuse and terrorism.
The FinCEN Exchange program, in which this event is included, is a statutory voluntary public-private partnership that coordinates with relevant stakeholders, such as law enforcement agencies and financial institutions. Its goal is to safeguard national security and citizens by tackling money laundering and associated crimes, including terrorism, through collaborative public-private dialogue. The program, initiated in 2017, received official status under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020.
