In an official statement on Monday, Luxembourg announced an appeals court on April 1 found the US seizure demand inadmissible.
The decision confirms earlier remarks by Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani who said on Sunday the country had won a legal victory over the assets that had long been frozen on a US request in Luxembourg.
During a cabinet meeting, Rouhani said “Iran’s central bank and foreign ministry have recently won a very good victory in a legal battle. $1.6 billion of our money was in Luxembourg and the Americans had put their hands on it.”
The money is held in the Clearstream clearing house, a financial company owned by Deutsche Boerse based in Luxembourg.
A New York court in 2012 ordered Iran to pay $7 billion in damages over the September 11 attacks, claiming that Tehran had aided Al-Qaeda by allowing its militants to travel through its territory.
Iran has rejected the allegation and refused to pay the sum.
