Frozen Iranian assets in S. Korea transferred to Switzerland
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Iranian assets frozen in South Korea have been moved to Switzerland's central bank for exchange, as part of the recent Iran-US deal.
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The Iranian flag flutters in front of the building of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, in Vienna, Austria, Friday, Dec. 17, 2021 (AP)
Iranian assets, previously frozen in South Korea, have been successfully transferred to Switzerland's central bank in a strategic move for exchange and subsequent transfer to Iran, Reuters reported citing South Korean media.
Korean news website, Yonhap Infomax, reported that the Swiss National Bank has outlined a comprehensive plan to convert $6 billion of its holdings in South Korean won to dollars and then euros in the following weeks.
Despite such reports in local media, officials from South Korea's Finance Ministry refrained from confirming, citing the intricate legal and diplomatic sensitivities associated with the matter.
This financial maneuver is linked to a recent accord between Iran and the United States, where an agreement was reached for the release of five detained US citizens in exchange for the unfreezing of Iranian assets held in South Korea and Iranian citizens detained in the US.
The assets are expected to be transferred from Switzerland to an account in Qatar, thereby enabling Iran to access them. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi confirmed last week that the released assets would be directed toward bolstering domestic production.
Read more: Release of South Korea-held Iranian funds underway: MoFA
On August 12, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), Mohammad Reza Farzin, announced that the United States has unfrozen $6 billion in Iranian assets as part of their prisoner swap agreement.
"All Iranian foreign-currency assets in South Korea have been unblocked. Soon all of these euro-denominated assets will all be deposited with six Iranian banks in Qatar and used to buy commodities that are not covered by sanctions," the banker was quoted as saying by the Iranian news agency YJC.
Read more: Iran, US reach deal: Convicted US spies for jailed Iranians, assets
