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Central banks in Egypt, UAE join forces as US moves to cut Banque Misr from dollar system due to Iran links
Business Insider Africa • • business
Key Points:
- The US Treasury has targeted Banque Misr’s six UAE branches, accusing them of facilitating approximately $1.8 billion in transactions linked to Iranian shadow-banking networks between January 2024 and June 2026, while exempting the bank’s operations in Egypt and other international locations.
- The US has prohibited American financial institutions from processing transactions involving these UAE branches as part of a broader campaign to restrict Iran’s access to international finance amid ongoing US-Iran tensions.
- In response, the UAE central bank has launched an urgent review of Banque Misr’s UAE branches covering the specified period, and Banque Misr is assessing the implications of the US restrictions to ensure continued operations.
- The move is significant for Egypt since Banque Misr is the country’s second-largest state-owned bank, and the action underscores increasing US pressure on banks operating between the Gulf, Africa, and Iran to enforce sanctions through control of dollar-based financial systems.
