First Czech-Russian Bank

"Like Russia's First Czech-Russian Bank LLC and China's Bank of Kunlun Co. Ltd, they are typically small, obscure financial institutions often based in countries historically friendly to Iran... In February, some traders started flocking to First Czech-Russian Bank after word spread that it had started servicing Iran trade facilities, according to Iran trade professionals. In March, Roman Popov, the chairman and majority owner of the bank, was elected to lead the Russian-Iranian Business Council, promising to increase bilateral trade... A spokeswoman for First Czech-Russian Bank declined to discuss the group's Iran business." (The Wall Street Journal, "Willing Banks Find Profits in Legal Trade With Iran," 4/8/2012)  (http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303299604577323601794862004.html?mg=reno-secaucus-wsj)