Iran asks IMF to intervene in US actions on banks

WASHINGTON, Mar 9 (Reuters) Iran has asked the International Monetary Fund to determine whether US sanctions against Bank Saderat, Iran's second-largest state-owned bank which Washington has accused of terror financing, violated IMF rules on foreign exchange restrictions.

IMF staff and Iranian finance officials discussed the effects of the US action against Saderat during annual economic consultations in November, according to IMF documents published yesterday that detail the talks.

During the talks, Iranian authorities expressed concern that since the United States cut off Saderat, the bank had been unable to issue letters of credit in dollars, which was affecting deposits.

The officials also complained that several correspondent banks in Europe and Asia with activities in the United States had cut off Saderat from operating in other currencies.

''The authorities have sent a note requesting fund management to ascertain whether the measure adopted by the US Treasury constitutes an exchange restriction subject to fund approval,'' the IMF said.

The IMF has not revealed any findings.

Washington has accused Iran of facilitating the proliferation of nuclear weapons and ''terrorism'' through the world's financial system, using state-owned banks and front companies.

Since cutting off Bank Saderat, a major trade financier, Washington has intensified its campaign to isolate Tehran.

In February, it also targeted Iranian state-owned Bank Sepah for transferring Iranian missile payments to North Korea and barred it from conducting business in dollars. Sepah has branches in London, Paris, Rome and Frankfurt.

Tehran has dismissed the US actions as ''harassment''.

In talks with the IMF, Iranian authorities pointed to two external audits of Bank Saderat activities in Lebanon and London ''that found no evidence of any transactions involving terrorist groups.'' The IMF did not give further details.

REUTERS DKS PM0659