USG CONCERNS ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION OF UNSCR 1747 WITH RESPECT TO BANK SEPAH

SECRET S E C R E T TOKYO 001516 SIPDIS SIPDIS TREASURY PASS TO AMIT SHARMA AND RACHEL LOEFFLER E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/05/2017 TAGS: KNNP, EFIN, PARM, JA SUBJECT: USG CONCERNS ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION OF UNSCR 1747 WITH RESPECT TO BANK SEPAH REF: A. SECSTATE 40440 B. TOKYO 799 Classified By: Classified By: Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer, Reason 1.4(b)(d) 1. (S) According to Ministry of Finance (MOF) Legal Office Deputy Division Chief Shunichi Fukushima, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) hosted an inter-ministerial on Monday, April 2, to determine how the government of Japan will proceed on implementation of UNSCR 1747. MOF requires a revision of MOFA's February notification (ref B), and while "the EU's response is crucial in determining timing, everything will be under MOFA's control," stated Fukushima. As of Thursday, April 5, inter-governmental discussions were ongoing. 2. (S) Regarding concerns of Bank Sepah's correspondant ties with Japanese banks, in late 2006, officials from Mizuho Bank approached FINATT after having met with Treasury Deputy Secretary Kimmitt regarding Japanese mega-bank ties to Iran. SIPDIS Mizuho officials reported that following their discussions with Kimmitt and consultations with MOF, the bank severed ties with Iranian financial institutions. FINATT will continue to work closely with MOF on Japan's banking relations with Iran. SCHIEFFER