[HIGHLIGHTS] FT: Iranian companies opened accounts in Britain to circumvent US sanctions

Iranian companies opened bank accounts in large British banks Lloyds and Santander UK to circumvent US sanctions imposed on the country. One of these companies was Petrochemical Commercial Company (PCC), which has been under US sanctions since 2018.

PCC used firms in the UK to obtain funds from Iranian shell companies in China, while hiding the fact of ownership of the companies through “trust agreements” and nominee directors. In December, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian signed a declaration on countering unilateral sanctions.