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Iran denies moving financial assets and buying gold

Section: Daily Dispatches

From Reuters
Sunday, January 22, 2006

http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?
type=worldNews&storyID=2006-01-22T110125Z_01_OLI225387_RTRUKOC_0_US-
ECONOMY-IRAN-ASSETS.xml

TEHRAN -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Sunday flatly denied any
currency had been transferred from Tehran's overseas accounts to
protect holdings from possible economic sanctions over work on its
atomic programme.

The Foreign Ministry's statement contradicted Central Bank Governor
Ebrahim Sheibani, who was quoted on Friday as saying foreign
holdings were being shifted.

The Central Bank of Iran, in a statement faxed to Reuters on Sunday,
denied a newspaper report that it was shifting funds to East Asia
but did not comment on whether transfers were occurring elsewhere.
It also did not address the contradiction with the Foreign Ministry.

"So far we have not moved any hard currency. We have not transferred
it," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told a news
conference.

Iran faces referral to the U.N. Security Council for possible
sanctions after failing to convince the world its atomic programme
is peaceful. It has bitter memories of its U.S. assets being frozen
after the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Sheibani on Wednesday told reporters that Iran stood ready to
repatriate foreign-held assets if that were to prove necessary.

On Friday, he was quoted by the ISNA and Fars news agencies as
saying: "We transfer foreign reserves to wherever we see as
expedient. On this issue, we have started transferring. We are doing
that."

Prior to Sheibani's comments on Friday, the Asharq al-Awsat Arabic
daily reported that Iran's Supreme National Security Council had
ordered that overseas assets be sent to Hong Kong, Singapore,
Shanghai and Malaysia.

In its statement on Sunday, the central bank said: "Iran's currency
reserves will be kept in trustworthy banks all over the world
including those in European and non-European countries."

However, the statement did not clarify the meaning of Sheibani's
comments on Friday. It only denied the reported transfer to Asia,
and did not comment on whether Iran was moving money to other
destinations or repatriating it.

Analysts said it was unclear what Iran would gain by transferring
money to other foreign accounts, which would be equally subject to
U.N. measures.

Some, however, suggested that Iran could still be eyeing Switzerland
and Gulf accounts as refuges.

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