Iranian financial network: A German bank in Tehran's sights

Exclusive Iranian financial network A German bank in Tehran's sights As of: October 21, 2026 • 11:00 a.m

International sanctions against the Iranian regime are making payment transactions more difficult. That's why the mullahs maintain a network of hundreds of front companies. According to research by Report Mainz and Spiegel, they wanted to take over a bank in Bavaria.

The TEN31 bank in Ottobrunn near Munich offers solid services for the housing industry: a rental deposit account, for example, or real estate financing for home ownership communities.

But in the summer of 2023, a completely different business suddenly appears, with traces of the Iranian regime. Within ten months, 147 million euros flowed through a single TEN31 account, a large portion of which came from companies close to the regime. This emerges from internal letters from the banking supervisory authority Bafin, which are available to the ARD political magazine Report Mainz and the Spiegel.

The payments with a suspected Iranian connection accounted for more than half of the bank's total assets. And that's not all: a "non-transparent corporate network" is trying to acquire the majority shares in the bank, according to the letter. It is probably about continuing Iran-related business that had previously been banned from another bank.

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In another letter, Bafin made it even clearer: the people and companies involved had "planned and carried out the acquisition of the majority stake in TEN31 (...) on behalf of (...) Shahr Bank, Iran". Bank Shahr is a parastatal Iranian bank that is considered close to the regime. Their front companies are repeatedly suspected of coordinating illegal oil transactions. Bank Shahr has been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department for years.

The documents suggest that a three-person delegation from Bank Shahr even wanted to visit the TEN31 headquarters in Ottobrunn in 2023. This caused unwanted attention, those involved wrote at the time. At the same time, they feared secret service investigations.

When asked, TEN31 stated that they were not aware of such a visit. Bafin did not want to comment on the TEN31 case. As a matter of principle, no information is provided about individual events, according to a spokesman.

According to the available documents, the constitutional protection authorities actually got wind of the events at TEN31, the banking regulator Bafin ultimately stopped the sale of the bank shares and withdrew the voting rights of those involved. But documents available to Report Mainz and Spiegel show that there is now a new purchase attempt. This time through a small Swiss company based in the canton of Zug.

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The documents suggest that there are concrete links to the first takeover attempt. A photo of a notary appointment at the Swiss company shows a man of Iranian origin at the side of the official board of directors. The name of the same man also appears in the files relating to the first takeover attempt. According to available documents, he also acted as a representative of Bank Shahr or its subordinate companies in another context.

A questionnaire under the Money Laundering Act lists an employee of the same Iranian-born man as the economic beneficiary of the Swiss company. When asked, they did not want to comment on this. The man of Iranian origin involved also emphasized that he was a regular businessman and had no connection to TEN31.

However, several insiders entrusted with the events confirm to Report Mainz and Spiegel that there is a direct connection between the first and second takeover attempts of the TEN31 bank.

When asked, the TEN31 bank admits that there have been “deficiencies in money laundering prevention” in the past. With a special representative appointed by Bafin, the current board members have remedied these deficiencies and "immediately stopped all business activities that are outside the supervision of homeowners' associations." Regarding a possible takeover, they rely on the review by Bafin, "with whom we are in close contact."

According to Rebecca Schönenbach, an independent anti-money laundering and terrorism consultant, majority ownership of a German bank would offer several advantages for the Iranian regime. "A bank not only has the ability to deposit money and lend money. There are also various ways to put the money into circulation and, above all, to conceal the Iranian regime's money routes. So there is an increased risk."

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Schönenbach has been observing the Iranian regime's activities in Germany for years. Insiders who were themselves active as intermediaries for Iran also describe a complex and opaque system of companies in Germany and other European countries to Report Mainz and Spiegel. This system serves the regime to circumvent sanctions and return income from the oil and oil products business in Iran. The sale of oil is considered the most important source of income for the regime in Tehran, which also finances terrorist groups such as the Revolutionary Guards as well as Hamas and Hezbollah.

Konstantin von Notz, deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Control Committee, warns about the activities of Iranian authorities in Germany: "The attempted purchase of financial institutions by Iranian straw men raises the suspicion that an attempt is being made to specifically buy up German banks in order to open up new sources of finance for the government in Tehran, to circumvent sanctions and to launder cryptocurrencies and other financial resources," said the Green politician.

This topic in the program: The First | Report Mainz | Oct 20, 2026 | 9:45 p.m