(JTA) — U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to make companies aware that they may be in violation of the new Iran sanctions law.
Ackerman, chairman of the House of Representatives subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, made the request in a letter sent Tuesday to SEC chairman Mary Schapiro.
The new law sanctions companies that help develop Iran’s energy sector and bans U.S. banks from doing business within the country. It is designed to force Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons program by strangling its energy and financial sectors.
Ackerman wrote that the SEC needs to publicize information to inform investors if the companies they want to invest in face sanctions related to the new law.
“The SEC has a vital role to play in making certain that participants in our financial markets have the information they need to determine if their investments are at risk due to non-compliance with U.S. laws relating to Iran,” Ackerman wrote. “I believe prompt SEC action is needed to ameliorate these risks."
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