In determining whether transactions or financial services are significant, the Secretary of the Treasury may consider a number of factors related to the transactions or services, including, but not limited to: size, number, and frequency; type, complexity and commercial purpose; the level of awareness or involvement by the bank’s management; whether the activity or payment illustrates a pattern of practice or is an isolated event; the ultimate economic benefit conferred upon the designated person(s); and whether the transactions involved the use of deceptive financial practices to obscure the identities of the parties involved.
Bank of Kunlun
Bank of Kunlun has provided hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of services to U.S. designated Iranian banks. These financial services include maintaining accounts, transferring payments, and serving as the paying bank for letters of credit opened by U.S. designated Iranian banks. The facilitation of hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars worth of transactions with U.S. designated Iranian banks over the past year is significant.
In 2012, after Treasury designated Bank Tejarat, Bank of Kunlun transferred hundreds of payments totaling approximately $100 million dollars for accounts it holds for Bank Tejarat and made a payment for an IRGC affiliate pursuant to a letter of credit opened by Bank Tejarat.