The Straits Times World News
· collected 2026-09-04 · by The Straits Times
The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi, a Turkish investment bank, and two of its subsidiaries, in an effort to increase economic pressure on Iran. The sanctions, announced on Friday, target the Istanbul-based entities by cutting them off from the dollar-based financial system. According to the Treasury Department, Golden Global was established to enable Iran's shadow banking network to transfer oil revenues from China to Turkey. This is part of a broader campaign by the Trump administration to economically pressure Tehran and force it back to the negotiating table.
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Story summary
The US Treasury Department has imposed new sanctions on a Turkish investment bank and two of its subsidiaries as part of efforts to increase economic pressure on Iran. The targeted entities are *Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi*, an Istanbul-based investment bank; *Golden Global Portfoy Yonetimi Anonim Sirketi*, an asset manager; and *Golden Global Varlik Kiralama Anonim Sirketi*, an asset leasing company. These banks have been added to the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals list, effectively cutting them off from the dollar-based financial system. The sanctions were announced on September 4 and are part of the *Trump administration*'s ongoing efforts to limit *Iran*'s access to international finance. The US Treasury Secretary, *Scott Bessent*, stated that this action is a warning to other "bad actors" in the financial system, implying that more banks will be targeted in the future.
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Leaning score +0.60 for article 3818 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-09-04
US sanctions Turkish bank, two subsidiaries to pressure Iran
WASHINGTON, Sept 4 -
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US → sanction → Iran
The U.S. Treasury Department said on Friday it imposed new Iran-related sanctions on a small Turkish investment bank and two subsidiaries as part of the Trump administration's effort to increase economic pressure on Iran.
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it → say → Iran
The entities targeted are Instanbul-based investment bank Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi, asset manager Golden Global Portfoy Yonetimi Anonim Sirketi, and asset leasing company Golden Global Varlik Kiralama Anonim Sirketi, according to the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
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entities → target → Control
The sanctions put all three entities on the Treasury's OFAC Specially Designated Nationals list, cutting them off from the dollar-based financial system.
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sanctions → put → system
The Treasury Department also issued a general license to allow the wind-down of transactions with the sanctioned entities.
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Department → issue → entities
In an interview with news outlet America's Voice News, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the latest action "is code for you are out of business."
"And we will probably sanction another bank next week, and we are telling the financial system bad actors: 'We know who you are, you know who you are, it's over, and our allies are helping with this," he said.
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he → say → this
Golden Global Yatrim Bankasi is the 35th-largest bank in Turkey by total assets, according to database TheBanks.EU, with total assets of 25,024.68 million Turkish lira ($516.63 million) in 2025.
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Bankasi → accord → 2025
The bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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bank → respond → comment
TREASURY ALLEGES IRAN OIL MONEY CONDUIT
The Treasury said in a statement that Golden Global was established for the purpose of enabling Iran's shadow banking network to transfer oil revenues from China to Turkey, where it could then be converted to cash and gold by money exchangers.
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it → allege → exchangers
The Treasury said that Golden Global has knowingly offered to provide correspondent banking services to Iranian financial institutions, enabling transactions through accounts controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force and its proxies.
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Global → say → Force
The action is the latest in the Trump administration's campaign to economically pressure Tehran six months into the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, which has pushed energy prices higher worldwide.
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which → pressure → prices
Bessent, who last month announced an "economic onslaught" against Iran's financial links around the world, has said Washington is seeking to force Tehran back to the negotiating table.
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Washington → announce → table
Last week, Washington moved to impose Patriot Act curbs on Egyptian lender Banque Misr's branches in the United Arab Emirates from U.S. dollar transactions over their dealings with Iran.
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Washington → move → Iran
But the action fell short of full OFAC sanctions on the institution that did not affect Misr's head office or branches elsewhere.
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that → fall → office
In an interview with Reuters on Sunday, Bessent said the Treasury Department was likely to roll out new secondary sanctions every week, initially focusing on banks, as part of a broader campaign to intensify economic pressure on Iran.
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Department → say → Iran
Sanctions expert Brett Erickson, managing principal of Obsidian Risk Advisors, questioned how effective the action would be and said it could draw retaliation from Tehran.
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it → manage → Tehran
"The sanctioning of Golden Global will marginally increase pressure on Iran.
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sanctioning → increase → Iran
But hurting Iran and changing the outcome of this war are two very different things," Erickson said.
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Erickson → hurt → war
"If this pressure cannot meaningfully change the economic trajectory of the war, Washington may simply be poking the bear and daring Iran to retaliate in ways that could inflict far greater damage on the global economy," Erickson said.
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Erickson → change → economy
