Building No. 539, North Pasdaran Street, Tehran, 19575-497, Iran
Official reason
Through IRGC-controlled Ansar Bank, the Iranian regime established a layered network of front companies based in Iran, Turkey, and the UAE to bypass sanctions, gain access to the international financial system, and exchange devalued Iranian rial for dollars and euros. Ansar Bank also used international free zones to establish front companies. As part of this scheme, Ansar Bank used its Iran-based foreign currency arm, Ansar Exchange and its network, to convert Iranian rial ultimately to hundreds of millions of dollars and euros. To provide this funding to Ansar Bank, MODAFL, and the IRGC, Ansar Exchange relied upon a network of front companies and agents in Turkey and the UAE. IRGC-controlled Ansar Bank was previously designated pursuant to E.O. 13382 in 2010. Today, OFAC designated Ansar Bank pursuant to E.O. 13224 for assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to or in support of, the IRGC-QF, and for being owned or controlled by the IRGC. With 1,081 branches throughout Iran, Ansar Bank procured hundreds of millions of dollars in the last three years on the IRGC’s behalf. As recently as 2019, Ansar Bank officials maintained close associations with senior IRGC-QF officials and financial facilitators who use accounts at Ansar Bank to keep the equivalent of millions of dollars. For example, Treasury-designated IRGC-QF financial facilitator Meghdad Amini held funds at Ansar Bank. Ansar Bank also extended the equivalent of millions of dollars as a loan to an IRGC-QF front company. IRGC-QF officials’ salaries also have been paid using Ansar Bank, and Ansar Bank is used by the IRGC-QF to pay the salaries of its foreign fighters, particularly those based in Syria. On October 16, 2018, Treasury designated two of these Syria-based, IRGC-QF-backed militias, the Fatemiyoun Division and Zainabiyoun Brigade, which are comprised of foreign fighters, including child soldiers as young as 14 years old. Ayatollah Ebrahimi, who was recruited into the IRGC at the age of 14, has been the managing director of Ansar Bank since 2005. In this capacity, Ebrahimi worked directly with IRGC-QF officials to facilitate their financial activities, including the conversion of euros or the UAE dirham for the terrorist group. Ayatollah Ebrahimi is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 for acting for or on behalf of Ansar Bank. Treasury is also taking action against a number of Iranian firms owned, or under the control of, Ansar Bank. Specifically, Iranian Atlas Company, Ansar Bank Brokerage Company, and Ansar Information Technology are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 for being owned or controlled by Ansar Bank.
On August 16, 2010, OFAC issued the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 561 (75 FR 49836, August 16, 2010) (IFSR) to implement provisions of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111–195) (22 U.S.C. 8501–8551). Since then, OFAC has amended the IFSR several times.
