Thread by @OCCRP

NEW: With Reza Zarrab expected to testify in a US court for helping Iran evade sanctions, we show how the money launderer was just a cog in a larger scheme involving the Turkish gov’t and transactions with major global banks. #WhoBankedForIran 1/
occrp.org/en/how-iran-us…

Who is Reza Zarrab? The money launderer will be a key witness in the US prosecution of Turkish state-owned Halkbank, which is accused of knowingly facilitating Zarrab’s sanction-busting scheme in the 2010s.

More on Zarrab here: 2/
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Zarrab and Halkbank didn’t act on their own.

Testimony from Zarrab and an exclusive interview with his ex-deputy indicate that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was behind the sanction-busting scheme.

More on that here: 3/
occrp.org/en/the-fincen-…

But Halkbank wasn’t the only financial institution entangled with Zarrab.

Today, we reveal that Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, HSBC, Standard Chartered, UBS, & Wells Fargo processed at least $6.5b in transactions for Zarrab-linked companies. 4/

US prosecutors have referred to these major institutions as "victim banks" that were duped into aiding Zarrab’s financial crimes.

Today’s investigation casts serious doubt on this assessment. 5/

HSBC: A cash courier for Zarrab told OCCRP that the major financial institution, previously caught moving $881m for drug cartels, was his boss’s bank of choice.

We found that HSBC handled a number of transactions for Zarrab-linked accounts that benefited Iran.

There’s more👇 6/

OCCRP revealed last year that HSBC handled $100m linked to China secretly buying Iranian oil while Iran’s nuclear deal was being negotiated.

Despite having this evidence on hand, US prosecutors have not faulted HSBC.

The story: 7/
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Standard Chartered: The bank that was fined $1b in 2019 for working with blacklisted Iranian clients facilitated several suspicious transactions for Bella Investments, a Zarrab firm at the center of another OCCRP investigation.

Here’s the story: 8/
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What’s more, a leaked 'suspicious activity report' — part of the #FinCENFiles — showed that Standard Chartered continued to do business with at least one Zarrab-linked firm used to conceal Iran transactions, even after flags were raised. 9/

Deutsche Bank: Records show the scandal-ridden institution facilitated transactions for a Zarrab-linked bank six months after the money launderer was arrested in Florida. 10/

Today’s investigation underlines the lack of accountability for financial firms, which often plead ignorance when caught moving money for companies with opaque ownership.

This is why governments must force companies to publicly declare their "ultimate beneficial owners." 11/

Read all of our investigations into Zarrab and others who also moved money for Iran using similar schemes.

Our reporting includes documents obtained via FOI request and leaked records shared by @ICIJorg as part of the #FinCENFiles. 12/
occrp.org/en/how-iran-us…