'Banque Misr to continue business as usual': UAE, Egypt central banks issue joint statement after US action

The UAE and Egypt's central banks have issued a joint statement reaffirming their full cooperation and coordination over the UAE branches of Banque Misr. This comes in response to the US move to restrict the bank's operations from conducting dollar transactions through US financial institutions, accusing it of facilitating financial activity linked to Iran.

The US Treasury estimates that Banque Misr UAE processed approximately $1.8 billion for 103 companies potentially involved in Iranian shadow banking networks between January 2024 and June 2026. Customers of the UAE operation included front companies used by Iran's Ministry of Defence and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to evade US sanctions and move funds internationally.

The US proposal, which is not yet final, would limit Banque Misr UAE's correspondent banking access to US financial institutions, affecting its ability to conduct dollar transactions through US correspondent banks. However, this restriction would not apply to Banque Misr's operations in Egypt or its other overseas branches. The UAE central bank is coordinating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and US authorities regarding the measures targeting Banque Misr's UAE branches, emphasizing that the proposed action is limited to US dollar transactions between Banque Misr UAE and correspondent banks.

Brief written by urgent.news from Live Mint's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.