Feds move to seize office tower controlled by Iranian bank

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Feds move to seize office tower controlled by Iranian bank
Posted: 03:07 PM ET
By Terry Frieden
CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Federal authorities filed court papers Wednesday to seize a 36-story New York office tower financed and controlled by a state-owned Iranian bank designated by the U.S. government as a supporter of Iran’s nuclear program.
The Justice and Treasury departments moved in tandem to freeze the property owned and controlled by the Iranian government-owned Bank Melli and its partner, Alavi Foundation, filing a civil complaint seeking forfeiture of the building.
Bank Melli was designated by the Treasury Department last year as supporting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The department assigned a similar designation to the Assa Corporation on Wednesday, describing it as a front company for the bank and saying the corporation — located on New York’s Fifth Avenue — is wholly controlled by Bank Melli.

http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2008/12/17 ... an-bank-2/