MNA – Chairman of Tehran Chamber of Commerce Masoud Khansari said that the Chinese have declared money laundering to be the reason for closing the bank accounts of Iranians in China and announced that the problem will be discussed with the foreign minister in a meeting.


Masoud Khansari told Mehr News about the blocking of bank accounts of established Iranian companies in China by the Chinese banks and said “Chinese banks claim that the main reason for blocking the bank accounts of Iranian companies and businessmen is money laundering and providing financial support for terrorists. Investigations are being made in this regard.”

“In the following week, we will hold a meeting with Foreign Minister Zarif and his deputy where we will discuss and investigate this problem,” Chairman of Tehran chamber of commerce asserted.

He referred to the Chinese policy change which omitted Iran from the Silk Road Project and added “Iran must adopt a more active diplomacy with respect to this issue.”

Chinese banks had formerly blocked the bank accounts of some Iranian students. Recently, however, some businessmen received advanced warnings from Chinese banks about the closing of their bank accounts. Such measures indicate a policy change in China toward Iran that might risk the future of bilateral commercial deals.