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Türkiye's Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA) has transferred shareholder rights covering nearly all of Golden Global Investment Bank to the country’s deposit insurance fund, less than two weeks after the U.S. sanctioned the Istanbul-based bank over alleged Iran ties.
The banking regulator announced on Wednesday that the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) will exercise shareholder rights, excluding dividend rights, attached to stakes held by three of the bank’s shareholders.
The decision gives the fund the authority to exercise the shareholder rights attached to the stakes, while specifically excluding dividend rights.
In early September, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Golden Global Bank and two of its subsidiaries as part of Washington’s "Operation Economic Outcast," a campaign launched in August to cut Iran off from its remaining financial and economic lifelines.
Washington accused the bank of facilitating tens of millions of dollars in transactions for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and providing correspondent banking access that allowed Iranian funds to move internationally.
The Treasury also alleged that the bank helped facilitate the movement of Iranian oil revenues from China into Türkiye, with the funds converted into cash and gold. Golden Global has rejected the U.S. allegations and indicated that it would pursue legal action against the sanctions.
The U.S. measures effectively cut the bank and its sanctioned subsidiaries off from the U.S. financial system and restrict U.S. persons from engaging in transactions involving the designated entities, subject to applicable authorizations.
Following the decision, U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack stressed that the sanctions targeted specific financial institutions rather than Türkiye or its broader banking system. "This designation is aimed at the conduct of one entity, not at a nation, not at a banking system, and not at an ally," Barrack wrote on X, adding that it would be "a serious error" to interpret the measure as a judgment on Türkiye.
Türkiye’s Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said last week that Ankara had taken note of recent U.S. Treasury announcements concerning sanctions and regulations related to business dealings with Iran.
Founded in 2019, Golden Global Investment Bank has €498 million ($574.5 million) in total assets, according to official figures.
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