Bank Mellat, Iran’s third largest state-owned bank, is bypassing U.S.-imposed sanctions by establishing links with small and medium-sized banks that have less U.S. exposure than bigger lenders, the Financial Times reports.

Ali Divandari told the Financial Times that U.S. sanctions had failed to prevent the bank’s links with the international brokerage network, adding: “We managed to quickly replace other banks.”

The U.S. in October imposed unilateral sanctions against three of Iran’s commercial banks, Melli, Saderat and Mellat, to choke off Iran’s access to dollar financing and the U.S. financial system.

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