The current and continuing thaw in relations between the West and Islamic Republic of Iran is leading to a relaxation of the United Nations 'Iranian sanctions regime', but offshore jurisdictions appear to have been left out of the loop.

The current and continuing thaw in relations between the West and Islamic Republic of Iran is leading to a relaxation of the United Nations 'Iranian sanctions regime', but offshore jurisdictions appear to have been left out of the loop.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has stopped off in Paris to co-ordinate his approach to Iran with the French on his way to a crucial round of negotiations in Vienna on the matter. A final deal is not yet in sight but a further thawing of relations seems inevitable.

Aki Corsoni-Husain, the head of regulatory law at the global law firm of Harneys, told Compliance Matters: "The position of the offshore world in this is not entirely positive. Last year the Obama government had a meeting with Iran to reach a commitment on their nuclear programme. The quid pro quo of this accommodation is a relaxation of sanctions to a certain extent and this has been happening. For some reason, though, these have not been implemented in the United Kingdom's overseas colonies through the usual Orders in Council.

"In the overseas colonies the anti-Iran regime has been technically stricter than in the UK and European Union. Under EU legislation you are prohibited from transferring money to any Iranian over the sum of €10,000 without notifying the authorities.

"That's up to the value of €400,000  in the UK/EU. It was €40,000. Above that upper limit, you have to go to the authorities and get a licence. In the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands, it's still €40,000."

The offshore law firm of Harneys and Brown Rudnick LLP is orchestrating a live webcast to discuss the matter on 10 December at 14:00 Greenwich Mean Time.