The central banks of the United Arab Emirates and Egypt announced Sunday evening that they will fully cooperate and coordinate on the operations of Banque Misr's UAE branch, which was hit by US Treasury sanctions last week as part of the Trump administration's 'Judgment Day' campaign. According to Israeli media, the decision aims to manage the fallout from the sanctions, which target the bank's role in processing funds linked to Iranian shadow banking networks.
The central banks of the United Arab Emirates and Egypt announced a coordinated framework Sunday evening to oversee Banque Misr's UAE operations, following US Treasury sanctions imposed last Friday. The announcement marks the first joint regulatory response by both governments to manage the fallout from sanctions that accused the bank's UAE subsidiary of processing $1.8 billion for Iranian-linked networks between January 2024 and June 2026.
As The Zioneer reported earlier Sunday, the US Treasury had designated Banque Misr's UAE subsidiary amid a broader investigation by UAE authorities that could lead to license revocation. The thread began Friday at 17:47 Jerusalem when Israeli media outlet N12 first reported the disconnection of the bank's UAE branches from US banking access. Within the same hour, the US Treasury officially sanctioned the branches, alleging money laundering for 103 Iran-linked companies. Egypt's central bank clarified the same day that the sanctions are limited to UAE activities, while the UAE central bank stated the branches remain under local regulation and that US sanctions had not yet been applied to local banks. By Friday evening, the UAE had launched a formal investigation into the branch's compliance.
The coordinated response aligns with the Trump administration's 'Judgment Day' economic pressure campaign. As The Zioneer has previously reported, the UAE announced a suspension of economic transactions with Iran in August, and Gulf states along with the US have imposed sanctions on Hezbollah-linked entities. The joint statement seeks to prevent the sanctioned branch from becoming a source of diplomatic friction with Washington while maintaining its licensed operations under enhanced scrutiny.
The precise scope of the new coordination remains unclear — including whether the UAE intends to revoke the branch's license or impose additional operational limits, and how the $1.8 billion in alleged transactions will be addressed through the joint framework.
7 developments
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