US probes JPMorgan's links with Iranian oil trader's hedge fund, Bloomberg News reports
Adds details from report on Treasury probe and background in from paragraph 4 onwards
Nov 22 (Reuters) -The U.S. Treasury Department is looking into JPMorgan Chase's JPM.N relationship with a hedge fund that is said to be a part of Iranian oil trader Hossein Shamkhani's network, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
Hossein Shamkhaniis the son of Ali Shamkhani, a long-time ally of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneiand previously the country's top security official.
The U.S. agencyis scrutinizing whether JPMorgan complied with all rules and regulations when it took on UAE-based hedge fund Ocean Leonid Investments as a client, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
JPMorgan, the Treasury Department, and Ocean Leonid did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Hossein Shamkhani could not be immediately reached for comment.
The probe, which is at an early stage, is mainly interested in Shamkhani's activities, while also considering the possibility of bank compliance gaps,the report said, adding that JPMorgan was among the banks that offered leverage to the hedge fund.
JPMorgan has no obligation to exit the client relationship because neither Shamkhani nor the company appear on sanctions lists, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Last month,Bloomberg News reported that the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) had suspended firms said to be part of Hossein Shamkhani'snetwork amid mounting pressure from international regulators.
U.S. federallaw requires financial institutions to monitor for suspicious activity in an effort to prevent illicit funds from flowing through the country.
The Federal Reserve is also looking into Western financial exposure to Shamkhani's network, Bloomberg said.
The Fed declined to comment on the report.
In 2020, theTreasury Department took actionagainst several senior Iranian regime officials including Ali Shamkhani, noting his key role in implementing the supreme leader'sdomestic and foreign policies.
Reporting by Pritam Biswas and Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
