Bijan Zamanian has complained to the Human Rights Commission after ANZ said it was closing his accounts for accessing internet banking in Iran. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Bijan Zamanian has complained to the Human Rights Commission after ANZ said it was closing his accounts for accessing internet banking in Iran. Photo / Jason Oxenham
An Iranian-born Kiwi was shocked to learn his bank accounts were being closed because he'd logged on to internet banking in breach of ANZ's international sanctions policy while holidaying in Iran.
Though Auckland man Bijan Zamanian only moved money between New Zealand accounts, ANZ maintains he broke the rules, putting the bank at risk of significant financial penalties.
The 40-year-old Spark software engineer says his treatment by the bank is "ridiculous" and unfair.
He claims ANZ has discriminated against him on the basis of his country of origin and he's filed complaints with ANZ, the Banking Ombudsman and the Human Rights Commission.
"I'm a New Zealand permanent resident and should be treated by New Zealand rules."
ANZ says all banks have internal policies to avoid international penalties that can result from sanctions violations.
"ANZ's sanctions policy is concerned with transactions involving sanctioned jurisdictions and it applies to all ANZ customers, regardless of their country of origin."
Zamanian arrived in New Zealand in 2017 and became a permanent resident in 2019.
He travelled to Iran for three weeks in December to visit family. During the visit he logged on to ANZ's internet banking app to make payments to IRD, Gem Finance and pay his credit card balance and mortgage.
Iranian-born Bijan Zamanian believes ANZ's sanctions policy is discriminatory against ordinary Iranian citizens. Photo / Jason Oxenham
After returning to New Zealand, Zamanian said he received a call from ANZ saying his accounts were being closed for transacting while in Iran - a prohibited country under ANZ's economic and trade sanctions policy.
Zamanian was advised to make future banking arrangements elsewhere and warned to pay off his remaining credit card balance within 30 days or ANZ would initiate debt recovery action.
Shocked at the bank's stance, Zamanian complained to ANZ, claiming its actions violated his human rights.
He said he had not been residing in Iran and the transactions in question had nothing to do with the Middle Eastern country, other than an IP address.
He also argued the sanctions policy had no legal weight and there was no legal justification to close his accounts.
In a "final position" letter to Zamanian last month, ANZ wrote:
"As you were using ANZ Internet Banking while in Iran it meant you had the opportunity to transact in Iran, this was not a risk ANZ was prepared to take.
"We don't believe we violate the human rights of Iranian's [sic]. Our Policy prevents us from completing transactions that have any connection directly or indirectly with Iran, regardless of who is completing those transactions."
ANZ added that it could close any accounts or withdraw banking services at any time "without giving you a reason".
Zamanian told the Herald ANZ's sanctions policy was "unilateral and high handed", and unfairly targeting ordinary Iranian citizens.
He added that ANZ had allowed his mortgage accounts to remain open, which Zamanian labelled hypocritical and financially motivated.
"They want the money."
In a statement, ANZ said it had offered to keep Zamanian's other accounts open if he signed a declaration accepting the sanctions policy, and agreeing "not to use ANZ's internet banking while in Iran", which he has refused to do.
The Human Rights Commission had now initiated an investigation and ANZ planned to enter into mediation over Zamanian's complaint.
Massey University banking expert Professor David Tripe questioned whether it was sensible to penalise someone for performing transactions while they were in Iran.
"It would seem that their policy might go beyond a commonsense application of international sanctions."
Arsalan Abdollahi says TSB Bank closed his account due to fears he planned to transfer money from Iran. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Zamanian's case follows that of Arsalan Abdollahi, whose accounts were closed by TSB Bank due to concerns he may be planning to transfer money from Iran.
Abdollahi says TSB appears to have wrongly assessed him as being at risk of money laundering or financing international terrorism because of his ethnicity. He plans to sue the bank for damages.
The Human Rights Commission said ethnicity and national origin were prohibited grounds of discrimination under the Human Rights Act.
Anyone who believed they had been discriminated against in relation to accessing a service or facility could complain to the Commission.
Banking Ombudsman Nicola Sladden said banks were required to treat customers fairly, reasonably and in good faith, and must have "good reason" to close a customer's account.
