EU Court Allows Unit of Deutsche Boerse to Comply with US sanctions

Clearstream Banking AG in Luxemburg (AFP)
Clearstream Banking AG in Luxemburg (AFP)
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EU Court Allows Unit of Deutsche Boerse to Comply with US sanctions

Clearstream Banking AG in Luxemburg (AFP)
Clearstream Banking AG in Luxemburg (AFP)

The European Commission was right to allow Clearstream Banking AG, a unit of Deutsche Boerse, to comply with US sanctions on Iran and therefore interrupt payments to an Tehran-controlled holding, the European Union’s General Court said on Wednesday.

The Court added that the plaintiff IFIC Holding AG is a German company whose shares are held indirectly by the Iranian State and which itself has shareholdings in various German undertakings.

“The Commission did not err in its assessment by not taking into account the applicant’s interests or by failing to examine whether less onerous alternatives existed,” the Court said.

In August 2020, judgment creditors of Iran filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeking turnover of Iranian assets, they said belonged to the Central Bank of Iran, Bank Markazi.

At the time, Clearstream said it considers any claims for damages against it in this context to be unfounded and will take all necessary and appropriate measures to decisively defeat such claims.

For several years, US authorities had targeted Clearstream, looking at possible violations of money laundering and Iran sanctions laws.

Deutsche Boerse had denied wrongdoing.

Early in 2018, Iran’s central bank, Bank Markazi, has filed a suit in Luxembourg against Deutsche Boerse’s Clearstream unit seeking to recover $4.9 billion in assets plus interest.

The assets were frozen on suspicion of terror financing and as compensation for the victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Iranian assets also remain frozen in connection with a court case over the bombing of a US Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983 that killed 241 Americans.

In April 2020, a Luxembourg court said it blocked a long-running US request to transfer $1.6 billion in Iranian assets to victims of the September 11 attacks.

However, the statement added that the ruling was not final and could be appealed at Luxembourg’s highest court.



UNICEF Projects 20% Drop in 2026 Funding After US Cuts 

A view shows the logo on the exterior of UNICEF's humanitarian warehouse in Copenhagen, Denmark, November 15, 2023. (Reuters) 
A view shows the logo on the exterior of UNICEF's humanitarian warehouse in Copenhagen, Denmark, November 15, 2023. (Reuters) 
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UNICEF Projects 20% Drop in 2026 Funding After US Cuts 

A view shows the logo on the exterior of UNICEF's humanitarian warehouse in Copenhagen, Denmark, November 15, 2023. (Reuters) 
A view shows the logo on the exterior of UNICEF's humanitarian warehouse in Copenhagen, Denmark, November 15, 2023. (Reuters) 

UNICEF has projected that its 2026 budget will shrink by at least 20% compared to 2024, a spokesperson for the UN children's agency said on Tuesday, after US President Donald Trump slashed global humanitarian aid.

In 2024, UNICEF had a budget of $8.9 billion and this year it has an estimated budget of $8.5 billion. The funding for 2025 is "evolving," the UNICEF spokesperson said.

"The last few weeks have made clear that humanitarian and development organizations around the world, including many UN organizations, are in the midst of a global funding crisis. UNICEF has not been spared," said the spokesperson.

UNICEF did not specifically name the US, but Washington has long been the agency's largest donor, contributing more than $800 million in 2024. Since UNICEF was established in 1946, all its executive directors have been American.

"At the moment, we are working off preliminary projections that our financial resources will be, at a minimum, 20% less, organization wide, in 2026 compared to 2024," said the UNICEF spokesperson.

Since returning to office in January for a second term, Trump's administration has cut billions of dollars in foreign assistance in a review that aimed to ensure programs align with his "America First" foreign policy.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said last week that it will cut 20% of its staff as it faces a shortfall of $58 million, after its largest donor, the United States, cut funding.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also last month said he is seeking ways to improve efficiency and cut costs as the world body turns 80 this year amid a cash crisis.

UNICEF has implemented some efficiency measures but "more cost-cutting steps will be required," said the spokesperson.

"We are looking at every aspect of our operation, including staffing, with the goal of focusing on what truly matters for children: that children survive and thrive," the spokesperson said. "But no final decisions have been taken."