US protests India’s move to pay Iran via Hamburg bank

[dipsydoodle]

Source: indianexpress.com Tue Feb 15 2011, 03:10 hrs their time

Just as India thought it has found a way to pay for its crude oil imports from Iran, fresh complications have arisen. Washington has made it clear that it cannot overlook the fact that the European bank through which New Delhi proposes to channel its payments is under US sanctions.

The problem here is the Hamburg-based Europaish-Iranische Handelk AG (EIH) bank, which holds most of Iran’s key accounts. Two weeks ago, it was decided at a high-level meeting that the Reserve Bank of India would make payments to the Deutsche Bundesbank (German Central Bank) which, in turn, would pay the EIH bank and it would then settle it with the Iranian Central Bank.

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The RBI asked the government to secure an assurance from the US that it had no objections to the EIH route of payment. Washington has conveyed that EIH cannot be involved.

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The US has told India that the Iran Central Bank (ICB) is not barred from settling petroleum accounts under the US sanctions regime so New Delhi has the option of letting ICB open an account in a bank in India and then make the payment in Euros.

Read more: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/US-protests-India-s-move-to-pay-Iran-via-Hamburg-bank/750064

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Make the payment in Euros which is hardly likely to be a problem for India given they diversified from US$'s to Euros 6 years ago.

[lsewpershad]

1. Just wondering

Is the US ever going to stop dictating to other states?

[indepat]

2. Not bloody likely if history teaches us anything

:patriot: