Reports: Iran Drops Bid To Transfer Millions Out Of Germany

Germany -- The special security features of the new 10-euro banknote, visible under a black light lamp, as it is presented at the Bundesbank in Frankfurt Main, 07 May 2014.

BERLIN (AP)

German media outlets are reporting that Iran has rescinded its request to transfer 300 million euros ($347 million) in cash from a Hamburg-based bank in a case that been closely followed by the U.S.

The dpa news agency, along with the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and NDR and WDR broadcasters, reported Tuesday that Iran has informed German financial regulator Bafin it was dropping the request to repatriate the cash from the European-Iranian Trade Bank.

Bafin said it had no immediate comment.

The U.S. had been pressuring German authorities to reject the request, making clear it had concerns about potential terrorist financing and money-laundering.

Germany's Bundesbank last month changed its conditions allowing it to block transfers unless it receives assurances that a transaction doesn't violate financial sanctions or money-laundering rules.