Civil Enforcement Information - Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (1st action)

Date issued: Dec. 21 2010

TURBOFAC Commentary (203 words)

Notes:

1) OFAC considers the provision of any service to anyone ordinarily resident in Iran to be an export "to Iran" (560.204, 560.410). In addition, a financial service provided to a person "in Iran" is prohibited even if that person is not ordinarily resident there, unless a general license or exemption applies.

This is a rare enforcement action in which the violation is described as an export of financial services to a person "located in" Iran, suggesting that OFAC did not make a determination that the person was "ordinarily resident" in Iran.

Query whether, if the account holder was a U.S. person traveling through Iran, account access is exempt from regulation as ordinarily incident to travel (appears so: Case No. IA-16053).

2) See the other Wells Fargo enforcement actions at Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (2nd action) and Settlement Agreement (OFAC) - Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (3rd action).

3) Compare Enforcement Release: Emigrant Bank, and note that while 560.517 of the ITSR (then ITR) authorized "[t]he maintenance of Iranian accounts, including the payment of interest and the debiting of service charges," there was no general authorization for operating the account (e.g. sending and receiving ordinary wires).