TEHRAN — In a statement on Saturday afternoon Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh strongly condemned baseless accusations of a Bahraini court against the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), saying that the judicial process was flawed.

In response to the action of the Bahraini High Criminal Court against the CBI and several other banks of Iran and fining them on false charges, the Khatibzadeh stated that Iran rejects claims by the Bahraini court. 

The spokesman added, “The judicial process in the courts of Bahrain against the central bank and Iranian individuals and banks is so distorted that we do not have any official and reliable source to know the details of the cases, except for some media sources. Therefore, any announcement in this regard is based on the news published in the media.”

Khatibzadeh emphasized that the general purpose behind such baseless accusations and claims against the central bank, Saderat and Melli banks and some of the managers of these banks are based on political motives and have no legal value.

According to media reports, Bahrain's High Criminal Court has accused the CBI, along with a number of other Iranian banks and their officials, of being involved in "money laundering" activities.

The Bahraini public prosecutor has sentenced the defendants to various terms of imprisonment as well as financial punishment.

The CBI and the other Iranian banks were handed fines of 1 million Bahraini dinars each, and that confiscation was ordered of laundered funds.

Bahrain’s public prosecutor and state-owned news service claimed that the prosecution was “the largest money laundering case in the history of the kingdom.”

SA/PA