Tejarat Bank takes sanction-related losses to intl. arbitration

TEHRAN, Jan. 29 (MNA) – Governor of Iran’s Tejarat Bank said a complaint on damage claim for EU sanctions will be submitted to European courts. Chief Executive Officer of Tejarat Bank Mohammad Ebrahim Moghadam said his bank had filed a lawsuit in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) calling for compensation of losses it suffered during the sanction era. He underlined that the measure had been taken in an attempt to persevere interests of its shareholders and customers. The official went on to note that following removal of Bank Tejarat sanctions in the EU judicial authorities, the bank had already started assessment of losses it suffered as a result of EU sanctions with the help of certified international audit firms. Moghadam added that Iran’s lawsuit was registered in the European Union on Monday January 23 once necessary documents and evidence had been gathered. The official underscored that unfair sanction which were applied in January, 2012, severely hurt bank income in direct and indirect ways including freeze of Bank Tejarat assets and resources abroad during the sanctions era. Mohammad Ebrahim Moghadam said Bank Tejarat will continue judicial process to demand the losses resulted from sanctions. The EU imposed illegal sanctions against several Iranian institutions and banks, including Bank Tejarat at the beginning of 2012. After the bank's complaint to the ECJ, the General Court of the European Union on 2014 ordered removal of the illegal sanctions that the 28 members of the European bloc had imposed against the Iranian bank.