Egypt's Banque Misr reviews US Iran sanctions notice, UAE central bank launches urgent examination

CAIRO: Egypt's Banque Misr said on Saturday (Aug 29) it was reviewing a US Treasury notice to cut off its UAE branches from dollar transactions over their dealings with Iran, while the UAE central bank said it had launched an urgent examination of the branches following the US action.

The US imposition of Iran-related sanctions on the Egyptian bank comes as part of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's campaign to increase economic pressure to try to break a stalemate six months into Washington's war with Iran.

Banque Misr said its branch in the UAE continued to provide banking services to its customers in accordance with the applicable rules and procedures.

The UAE central bank said later on Saturday it had decided to conduct a "special and urgent examination" of Banque Misr's branches in the country, including "a forensic/in-depth lookback covering the period referred to in the statement issued by the US authorities".

"The Central Bank expects banks licensed in the UAE not to expose the UAE's financial system to reputational risks, to respect the laws and regulations of the countries whose financial institutions are used in conducting transactions, and not to misuse the advanced financial infrastructure of the UAE," it added in a statement.