§8726 Reports On, and Authorization of Imposition of Sanctions with Respect To, the Provision of Specialized Financial Messaging Services to the Central Bank of Iran and Other Sanctioned Iranian Financial Institutions

Summary

Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to tell Congress, first not later than 60 days after August 10, 2012, and then every 90 days, who is providing special international financial messaging services to the Central Bank of Iran or other listed Iranian banks and what steps the Treasury is taking to stop that access. The report must be unclassified but can include a classified appendix. It also says that these messaging providers are a key link to the global financial system, that the European Union’s decision to cut off such services to Iran is welcome, and that Iran’s loss of access must continue. Allows the President, starting 90 days after August 10, 2012, to impose sanctions on any person who knowingly keeps providing or enabling such messaging services to the Central Bank of Iran or the named Iranian banks. “Enabling or facilitating” includes acting as an intermediary bank that has access to the messaging system. The President cannot punish a person who is already under a foreign sanctions program that requires stopping those services, if the foreign program covers a similar group of Iranian banks and the person has stopped providing the services. This law does not limit the President’s other authorities under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act or the 2010 Iran sanctions law.