671. How are the terms “significant transaction or transactions; significant financial services; significant financial transaction” interpreted for purposes of correspondent or payable-through account sanctions set forth in section 2 of E.O. 13871?

The interpretation of “significant transaction or transactions; significant financial services; significant financial transaction,” as described in the correspondent account sanctions in the IFSR, provides that the Department of the Treasury may consider the totality of the facts and circumstances and sets forth a list of broad factors that can play a role in the determination whether transactions, financial services, and financial transactions are significant, including: (a) the size, number, and frequency of the transactions, financial services, or financial transactions; (b) the nature of the transactions, financial services, or financial transactions, including their type, complexity, and commercial purpose; (c) the level of awareness of management and whether the transactions are part of a pattern of conduct; (d) the nexus of the transactions, financial services, and financial transactions and blocked persons; (e) the impact of the transactions, financial services, and financial transactions on statutory objectives; (f) whether the transactions, financial services, and financial transactions involve deceptive practices; (g) whether the transactions solely involve the passive holdings of Central Bank of Iran (CBI) reserves or repayment by the CBI of official development assistance or the transfer of funds required as a condition of Iran’s membership in an international financial institution; and (h) other relevant factors that the Secretary of the Treasury deems relevant. (31 C.F.R. § 561.404).