Treasury warns banks about Iranian financial deception

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The U.S. government issued a new warning to U.S. banks and financial institutions Thursday that Iran is using "an array of deceptive practices" to conceal possible involvement with weapons of mass destruction and terrorism.

The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FiNCEN) cited attempts by the Iranian Central Bank and Iranian commercial banks to have their names removed from international transaction records in order to conceal "the true parties" in suspect transactions.

Thursday's alert is a new warning for U.S. banks "to take an extra degree of caution" when entering into transactions that include Iranian financial institutions, because the possibility exists that the transactions could be connected with terrorism or WMD, Treasury spokesman John Rankin told CNN.

– From CNN Producer Scott Spoerry