The Georgian TBC Bank provided clarifications on a directive it issued last week to impose banking restrictions on Iranian nationals who fail to meet new residency requirements in the Eurasian country. A TBC directive issued on Wednesday announced all Iranian nationals holding a written contract or an official purchase agreement are allowed to make deposits to buy property or pay mortgage installments at the bank’s branches, IBENA reported. The former directive had been interpreted as prohibiting banking services to Iranians who lack a resident’s card and freezing their accounts. The new directive notes that even prior to the first directive, banking services to those Iranians were banned, though making deposits only required showing a passport. Georgia is tightening its immigration law, under which permanent residency would only be issued to foreign nationals residing in the country for at least 10 years. Fatemeh Moqimi, the head of Iran-Georgia Chamber of Commerce, had said heightened pressure from the US sanctions against Iran was partly to blame for the TBC move.
