The home ministry has refused to allow three Iranian banks to open branches in the country because of concerns about money-laundering and terror financing, a report said on Friday.
The move complicates government’s efforts to settle its oil trade bills with the Islamic Republic, the Indian Express daily reported, quoting an unnamed home ministry official for the report.
The ministry has denied security clearance to applications by Parsian Bank, Bank Kasargad and Eghtesad-e-Novin Bank because of its obligation to guard against money laundering and terrorist financing, the newspaper said. There was no immediate comment from the home ministry.Government plans to import 15.5 million tonnes of crude oil from Iran this year.
It has faced difficulty in finding banks to transfer payments to Iran due to US-led financial sanctions against the Islamic republic that have dried up dollar payment routes.
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