U.S. Treasury Sanctions Türkiye’s Golden Global Bank, Says It Helped Iran’s IRGC-QF Move Funds

The U.S. Treasury on Friday sanctioned a Turkish investment bank and two subsidiaries, alleging they helped Iran’s government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force move money through international banking channels.

The Sept. 4 action by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, puts a banking and compliance spotlight on a financial institution in Türkiye, a key regional hub for cross-border finance. For banks, brokers and other counterparties, the immediate issue is not just the designation itself, but Treasury’s warning that dealings tied to the bank could trigger broader sanctions risk.

OFAC said it had designated and blocked Türkiye-based Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi, which Treasury referred to as Golden Global Bank, along with two Türkiye-based subsidiaries: Golden Global Varlik Kiralama Anonim Sirketi and Golden Global Portfoy Yonetimi Anon Sirketi. Treasury said the action was taken under Executive Order 13902, a Jan. 10, 2020, order that authorizes sanctions related to sectors of Iran’s economy, including the financial sector.

Treasury alleged Golden Global Bank “facilitated tens of millions of dollars’ worth of transactions for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force” and provided “key correspondent banking access” that helped the Iranian regime move funds internationally. It also alleged the bank was established to enable Iran’s “rahbar network” to transfer oil revenues from China to Turkey, where the funds could be converted into cash and gold by money exchangers.

Golden Global appears in Turkish public corporate and financial filings as an active Turkish investment bank. Treasury said the bank enabled transactions through accounts controlled by the IRGC-QF and its proxies, including entities linked to Turkish businessman Sitki Ayan.

The practical effect of Friday’s move is immediate. Treasury said all property and interests in property of the designated entities that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked. U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them. Treasury also warned that foreign parties engaging in certain transactions or services involving the designated entities could face secondary sanctions exposure, raising the stakes for non-U.S. institutions that maintain business ties.

The action is part of what Treasury has branded “Operation Economic Outcast,” a broader campaign announced Aug. 24, 2026, to cut off Iran’s remaining economic lifelines. Treasury has described that effort as an intensified push against Iranian financial networks, including banks and shadow-banking channels used to gain access to international and U.S. dollar-linked finance.

The legal hook cited Friday, Executive Order 13902, is one of the authorities Treasury uses to target actors operating in sectors of Iran’s economy. In this case, OFAC said it was applying that authority to entities it says operated in or supported the financial sector linked to Iran.

Treasury’s reference to Ayan ties the case to an existing enforcement trail. OFAC sanctioned Ayan and related entities in 2022, alleging they helped move hundreds of millions of dollars tied to IRGC-QF oil sales.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed the latest step as a warning to banks and other financial intermediaries. “Financial institutions continue to find out the hard way that we are serious about Operation Economic Outcast.”