Central Bank of the UAE orders urgent review of Banque Misr branches after US Treasury proposal

The Central Bank of the UAE launched a special and urgent examination of Banque Misr’s five branches in the country on August 29, one day after the US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network proposed cutting the Egyptian bank’s UAE operations off from the American financial system. What FinCEN is alleging FinCEN’s notice of proposed rulemaking, issued August 28, designated Banque Misr UAE as a “financial institution of primary money laundering concern.” That designation, made under the USA PATRIOT Act, is one of the most severe tools in the US anti-money-laundering arsenal. The core allegation: Banque Misr’s UAE branches allegedly processed roughly $1.8 billion in transactions for 103 companies that may be connected to Iranian shadow banking networks. The transaction window spans from January 2024 through June 2026, covering about two and a half years of activity. If the proposed rule is finalized, US financial institutions would be barred from opening or maintaining correspondent accounts for those five UAE branches. The scope is deliberately narrow. Banque Misr’s headquarters in Egypt, along with its branches in France, Germany, and Saudi Arabia, remain unaffected. The UA...