OTTAWA — TD Bank Group said Tuesday it will “reach out” to some Iranian-Canadian clients whose accounts were closed in compliance with Canadian sanctions against Iran, possibly leading to the restoration of some banking relationships.
On July 6, the Citizen reported TD had begun sending letters to clients whose accounts it had closed. The letters told clients that under recent changes to the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulation, Canadian financial institutions are forbidden from providing financial services to anyone in Iran or for the benefit of Iran.
The Canadian Bankers Association told the Citizen it is up to each bank individually to ensure compliance with economic sanctions against Iran.
TD began sending the letters to Iranian-Canadians across the country as early as the beginning of May, according to some of those who received them. The bank said it tried to contact customers who were affected by the regulations, and in cases where they did not hear back, it was forced to close their accounts.
Although TD cannot provide information about specific problematic transactions to former Iranian-Canadian clients, the bank said Tuesday it is taking steps to contact clients affected by the account closures who did not answer calls or letters to confirm or update their information.
“One of the things that we have been hearing from the media is what were some of the criteria we used to exit some of these customer relationships?” said TD Bank Group spokesperson Mohammed Nakhooda. “For those customers who did not respond to our calls and letters, we will reach out to them again in the next 30 days to confirm or update their information. And in some cases, depending on the information we obtain, this might lead to the banking relationship being restored.”
Although Nakhooda admits the information he provided Tuesday was “vague,” he was able to provide additional details as to why the accounts were closed.
Until Monday, TD said it closed the accounts of any client who provided financial services to anyone in Iran or for the benefit of Iran. As of Tuesday, Nakhooda added that any client who “provided and retained an active residential or employment address in Iran” was also identified in the “small pool of customers” whose accounts were closed.
For Pooya Sadeghi, who started a Facebook group called “Condemn TD Bank in their Treatment of clients with Iranian Background” after the bank ceased providing services to his family, the closure of accounts of those who have a residential or employment address in Iran is a new justification for the account closures.
“It is news to me and it’s very irrational. Many people who immigrated here because they cannot find their own jobs here,” said Sadeghi. “They get money sent to support them here.”
TD Bank Group has agreed to meet with the Iranian Canadian Congress (ICC) to discuss the closures next week, according to ICC Vice-President Kaveh Shahrooz.
Between the meeting with the ICC and TD’s efforts to reach out to affected Iranian-Canadians, the recent steps taken by the bank are “too little too late” for Sadeghi.
The ICC did not respond to calls for comment Tuesday morning.
Individuals affected by the closures said they had been diligent in following the restrictions set out in the regulation, making sure to abide by the regulations. However, many former clients still do not understand why their accounts were closed.
Section 5 part D of the regulation lists a series of exemptions for the sanctions between Iran and Canada. The exemptions for financial exchanges include financial services provided or acquired before November 11, 2011, pension payments to or from Iran, and non-commercial financial services under $40,000 (with record of transaction).
For Montreal lawyer Vincent Valaï, former president of the Association des Juristes Persans du Québec (an organization that has criticized TD’s actions), the absence of consideration for these sanction exemptions is the most puzzling part of TD’s closure of the accounts of some of its Iranian-Canadian clients.
Last week, the Iranian embassy in Ottawa called the TD bank account closures “discriminatory” and said political problems between Canada and Iran should not affect the Iranian community in Canada.
So far, it appears no other Canadian bank has taken the same action as TD. The bank could not confirm how many accounts had been closed as a result of the sanctions, but reports say closures have been reported in Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and British Columbia.
As affected Iranian-Canadians continue to search for answers to the account closures, TD maintains its stance on its interpretation of the sanctions.
“We’re confident we correctly applied the sanction regulations in this situation,” said Nakhooda. “This is not a review or look-back. This is clearly just doing due diligence and going back out to customers who have not responded yet.”
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