Banks remain fearful of US-approved transfers to Iran
An Iranian-American doctor tells Al-Monitor that his charity’s efforts to send money to Iran for an orphanage led to his US bank account being closed.
Iranian-Americans attempting to send money to Iran for humanitarian purposes are still experiencing major difficulties despite US authorization and the creation of a special channel for some transactions under the interim accord on Iran's nuclear program.
When Mohammad Farivar, a gastroenterologist who teaches at Boston University and Harvard Medical School, tried to send slightly more than $100,000 to Iran this summer from his charity’s long-standing account at what is now Santander Bank, he found it not only impossible to complete the transaction, but was also notified shortly thereafter that his account would be summarily closed. The doctor shared his correspondence with the bank, and his frustrations, with Al-Monitor.
