SWEDEN FREEZES ASSETS OF BANK SEPAH AND BANK SEPAH

S E C R E T STOCKHOLM 000545 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR ISN, NEA, AND EUR/NB DEPARTMENT PASS TO TREASURY E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/10/2017 TAGS: EFIN IR KNNP PARM SW SUBJECT: SWEDEN FREEZES ASSETS OF BANK SEPAH AND BANK SEPAH INTERNATIONAL REF: A. SECSTATE 60238 ¶B. STOCKHOLM 498 Classified By: Economic Counselor Ingrid M. Kollist for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) ¶1. (S) EconOff discussed reftel demarche 9 May with MFA Iran Desk Officer Jonas Wendel and 10 May with Ms. Mira Naumanen of the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. According to both, Swedish banks were notified April 23 by the official journal of the EU to freeze all assets in accounts affiliated with Bank Sepah and Bank Sepah International, a notification which was amplified by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority in its follow-on instructions to all Swedish banks to comply immediately and to inform the Authority of actions taken. ¶2. (S) The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority confirms that Sweden's banks complied with the directive. When asked for information on the total amount of assets found and frozen, Naumanen reported that, because of Sweden's secrecy and privacy laws, she could not share that information with EconOff. Naumanen reported that those details had been shared with relevant officers in Sweden's MFA, Finance Ministry, and at the European Commission. She gave the impression that some funds had been frozen but would also not identify the relevant financial institutions. EconOff then asked whether Sweden had seen any evidence of asset flight from Bank Sepah and/or Bank Sepah International around the time of the passage of UNSCR 1747 on March 24. Naumanen remained circumspect, but stated that there had been "some movement" of funds at that time, but not on a level that she and colleagues would describe as "alarming." Naumanen reported that this information was provided to the MFA, Finance Ministry, and EC along with the information on total amount of assets found and frozen. ¶3. (C) Post will continue to engage with MFA and Finance Ministry contacts in an attempt to get details on assets found and frozen and a better sense of the volume of asset flight which occurred here. We will report additional information as it is received septel. NOBLE