Iran Lost 15% Of Funds Released By South Korea

Iran's ambassador in Seoul revealed on Monday that the conversion of its funds, released by South Korea earlier this year, resulted in a 15% loss.

Ambassador Saeed Koozechi told local media that Iran’s financial loss “should be somehow compensated for.” He clarified his remark by adding, "We can compensate for these damages by strengthening and expanding the existing cooperation and capacities between Iran and South Korea."

South Korea had frozen between $6-7 billion of Iran’s revenues from oil sales that occurred before the United States imposed full sanctions on Tehran in May 2019. After four years of Iranian demands to free the funds, the United States agreed in August to allow South Korea to unblock the funds in exchange for the release of five US citizens held hostage by Tehran.

However, the money had already been converted into Korean currency, won, and when it was converted back to euros, Iran sustained losses. In the four years since the money had been frozen, won lost more than 10 percent of its value against the US dollar and the euro. The final amount that reached Qatar, the current custodian of the funds, it totaled 5.73 billion euros.

The US-Iran agreement to free the hostages in exchange for the funds led to criticism of the Biden administration, as many called the scheme the largest ransom payment in history.