Slovenia’s money-laundering office has launched an investigation into claims by opposition parties that the country’s biggest state-owned bank, Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB), may have laundered nearly €1bn from Iran between 2008 and 2010, breaking an international embargo and failing to enforce rules on the financing of terrorism.
Slovenian media reported in July that 40-50 transactions took place every day from NLB bank to more than 30,000 accounts around the world, including some clearly held in fake names, such as Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse. The allegations were not further elaborated until the opposition reopened the case last week.
NLB has not replied to questions. The Slovenian government confirmed that “in the case mentioned, the Office for Money Laundering Prevention (OMLP) has received a suspicious transaction report in June 2010 in relation to money laundering and Terrorist Financing Act.”
The scandal centres around Iranian and British citizen Iraj Farrokhzadeh, who opened accounts at the bank in December 2008 for the company Farrokh Ltd., after authorities in Switzerland shut down his accounts at UBS.
Farrokhzadeh is thought to have moved money for Iran’s Export Development Bank (EDBI), which was blacklisted by the European Council over its connection to weapons proliferation and payments to front companies run by Iran’s ministry of defence.
“The Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI) has been involved in the provision of financial services to companies connected to Iran’s programmes of proliferation concern and has helped UN-designated entities to circumvent and breach sanctions,” the EU officially recognised in its restrictive measures against Iran.
In addition, Farrokhzadeh himself was on Interpol’s most wanted list at the time.
The Bank of Slovenia issued an order banning the transactions in December 2010, which NLB took nine days to implement. By that time, Farroukhzadeh had moved his operations to Russian banks.