Unblocking Iran’s funds in South Korea would take 4-6 weeks: Report
The process to unblock Iran’s funds in South Korea that have started under an emerging prisoner swap deal between Iran and the US would take at least four weeks, according to a report published by a local Iranian news agency.
The Wednesday report by Tasnim revealed details of the mechanism agreed between Iran and the US to transfer some $6 billion worth of Iranian funds that have remained blocked in two South Korean bank accounts since 2018 when the US imposed its sanctions on Tehran.
Media reports and statements published last week showed that the US had agreed to a deal with Iran that included exchange of five prisoners and release of Iranian funds in South Korea.
The Tasnim report said that under the deal, the Woori Bank and the Industrial Bank of Korea had started transferring the Iranian funds, which are in South Korean currency won, to an account of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) in Seoul.
It said the process to change the funds to euro by the SNB would take 4-6 weeks as the operation should not exceed a weekly limit of 500 million wons.
The funds will then be transferred to an SNB account in Germany before they are transferred to accounts in two unidentified banks in Qatar, said the report.
It said six Iranian private banks have opened accounts in the two Qatari banks to receive the funds after transfer from Germany is completed.
The report said the funds would significantly boost Iran’s ability to pay for imports of animal feed of which the country needs between $15 billion and $20 billion per year.
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