The U.S. wants to cut Banque Misr UAE off from the dollar system

On August 28, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s FinCEN proposed restricting access to dollar-denominated correspondent banking services for the UAE-based subsidiaries of Egypt’s Banque Misr. The U.S. regulator designated Banque Misr UAE as a foreign financial institution posing a primary money laundering threat and initiated measures under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act.

If the proposal is approved, U.S. banks will be prohibited from opening and maintaining correspondent accounts for Banque Misr UAE. U.S. financial institutions will also be prohibited from conducting transactions related to this bank through foreign correspondent accounts without undergoing special enhanced due diligence.

According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, from January 2024 to June 2026, Banque Misr UAE processed approximately $1.8 billion for 103 companies that, according to U.S. assessments, may be linked to Iran’s shadow financial networks.

Washington believes that these transactions may have been used to conduct financial operations aimed at circumventing U.S. sanctions against Iran. The proposed restrictions have not yet taken effect and must undergo the procedure required by U.S. law.

Source: FinCEN

As a reminder, two Binance employees were detained in the UAE.

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