The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has managed to win a court order in Luxembourg to prevent the transfer of nearly $1.7 billion worth of assets from the European country to the United States. The CBI said in a Thursday statement that the court order had reiterated that Clearstream, a securities depository based in Luxembourg, would face heavy fines if it unilaterally hands over Iranian funds that it has in its possession to the United States.
The statement said the ruling had come in response to a request by the CBI and the Iranian Presidency’s legal affairs unit to prevent any potential transfer of the funds following a recent legislation in the US which allows American courts to have Iranian assets confiscated anywhere in the world without observing the national laws of the countries where they are being held.