Bank Sepah/Bank Sepah International

 

Bank Sepah is the financial institution of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enghelab-e Islami in Farsi).

 

Treasury sanctioned Bank Sepah in 2007 because of the large role it was playing in Iran's missile program:

 

From Treasury's January 2007 press release announcing the designation:

 

"Bank Sepah is the financial linchpin of Iran's missile procurement network and has actively assisted Iran's pursuit of missiles capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction," said Stuart Levey, Treasury's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI). "Our action today gives effect to the United Nation's call on all nations to deny financial assistance to Iran's nuclear and missile programs, and we urge other countries likewise to fulfill this serious obligation."

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Bank Sepah provides financial support and services to Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO), Shahid Hemmat Industries Group (SHIG), and the Shahid Bakeri Industries Group (SBIG), which were designated by President George W. Bush on June 29, 2005, in the Annex to E.O. 13382.

 

AIO, a subsidiary of the Iranian Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, oversees all of Iran's missile industries and is the overall manager and coordinator of Iran's missile program.

 

Bank Sepah is AIO's bank of choice, and since at least 2000, Sepah has provided a variety of critical financial services to Iran's missile industry, arranging financing and processing dozens of multi-million dollar transactions for AIO and its subordinates, including SBIG and SHIG.

 

Through its role as a financial conduit, Bank Sepah has facilitated Iran's international purchases of sensitive material for its missile program. In 2005, Bank Sepah financed a Chinese firm's sale of missile related items to Iran. Also in that year, AIO directed Sepah to transfer well over half of a million dollars to a North Korean firm associated with Komid, a North Korean entity designated for providing Iran with missile technology.

 

SHIG is responsible for Iran's ballistic missile program, most notably the Shahab series of medium range ballistic missiles based on the North Korean-designed No Dong missile. The Shahab is believed to be capable of carrying unconventional warheads and has a range of at least 1500 kilometers. SHIG has received help from China and North Korea in the development of this missile.

 

SBIG, an affiliate of Iran's AIO, is also involved in Iran's missile program. Among the weapons SBIG produces is the Fateh-110 missile, with a range of 200 kilometers, and the Fajr rocket systems, a series of North Korean-designed rockets produced under license by SBIG with ranges of between 40 and 100 kilometers. Both systems are capable of being armed with at least chemical warheads.