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KEB Hana Bank
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Bank closed the accounts of Iranian customers out of fear of US sanctions
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) is investigating KEB Hana Bank’s decision to close the accounts of Iranian customers as a case of “discrimination by place of origin,” it was confirmed on Nov. 8. Critics contend that the bank crossed a line by requesting an across-the-board closing of Iranian customer accounts – a step beyond what is required by sanctions – out of fears of a “secondary boycott” in connection with US sanctions against Iran. “On Oct. 5, we received a petition in connection with Hana Bank’s closing of Iranians’ accounts as a case of discrimination by place of origin, and we are currently investigating,” an NHRCK official said. Since late September, Hana Bank has mailed requests to dozens of Iranian customers asking them to close their accounts by Oct. 12. Since Oct. 31, customers who have not closed their accounts have been restricted to withdrawals of funds, while wire transfers and other transactions have been suspended. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea Act defines acts of exclusion, distinction, or disadvantageous treatment in connection with provision or use of services for reasons of country of origin as “discriminatory acts violating equal rights.” “I can understand South Korean banks being concerned about the US sanctions, but it is not right to prevent people from engaging even in domestic transactions where the sources are clearly indicated,” said Ali Karimi, the Iranian resident of South Korea who submitted the NHRCK petition, in a telephone interview with the Hankyoreh. Karimi, who has lived in South Korea for over six years and is currently working as an industrial designer while he completes a doctoral program in South Korea, said, “I study and work in South Korea, yet it feels like I’m being treated like a terrorist.” “Even in the US, there haven’t been any cases reported of Iranians being asked to close their bank accounts when the sources of their pay are clearly indicated,” he noted. In its request for Iranian customers to close their accounts, Hana Bank explained that it was “obliged to cancel deposit transactions by customers of Iranian nationality based on the opinion of a US law firm that won- and foreign currency-denominated deposit transactions with Iranian customers could be subject to US sanctions.” But no other commercial bank to date has restricted Iranian customers’ ability to conduct domestic transactions or asked them to close their accounts. “It is a clear-cut act of discrimination for Hana Bank to demand that all of its Iranian customers close their accounts while other banks have been doing things like confirming payment sources and identities,” said Park Hyon-do, an Iran expert and professor at the Myongji University Institute of Middle Eastern Affairs. By Park Su-ji, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
