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.



Pope Francis Makes Brief Appearance after Palm Sunday Service

Pope Francis greets cardinals as he unexpectedly appears during the Palm Sunday Mass in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, April 13, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Pope Francis greets cardinals as he unexpectedly appears during the Palm Sunday Mass in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, April 13, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
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Pope Francis Makes Brief Appearance after Palm Sunday Service

Pope Francis greets cardinals as he unexpectedly appears during the Palm Sunday Mass in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, April 13, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Pope Francis greets cardinals as he unexpectedly appears during the Palm Sunday Mass in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, April 13, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

Pope Francis made a brief appearance in St. Peter's Square on Sunday at the end of a Palm Sunday service, greeting the crowds from his wheelchair as he continues to recover from double pneumonia.

"Happy Palm Sunday, Happy Holy Week," the pope said, before once returning inside the Vatican, stopping occasionally to talk with the faithful, including a group of delighted nuns, Reuters reported.

Unlike last Sunday, when he made his first public appearance since being discharged from hospital three weeks ago, the pope was not receiving oxygen via a small hose under his nose.

Francis, 88, was discharged from hospital on March 23 after spending five weeks being treated for the lung infection, which his doctor later said had nearly killed him.

His medical team have urged him to take two months rest and the pope initially remained out of view after returning home. However, in a sign that he might be feeling stronger, he has made four unannounced appearances this past week, and also briefly met Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla.

 

It is still not known how much he will participate in the forthcoming Holy Week - the most important week in the Church calendar which is packed with services and events.