Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Abdolnaser Hemmati, said “joining the FATF will benefit us. All other countries have already joined, and we do not wish to be on the body’s blacklist.”
Hemmati then warned of negative consequences if the country failed to endorse the FATF-related bills that are required of Iran before joining the anti-money laundering watchdog.
Iran has already ratified two of the amendment bills on the country’s domestic laws regarding money laundering and terrorism financing. But the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, known as Palermo Convention in Iran, as well as the bill on Iran’s accession to the convention against the funding of terrorism (CFT), are the two controversial bills undergoing intensive reviews in the Expediency Council for the final verdict.
Meanwhile, new concerns have risen among Iranian officials regarding the FATF and EU’s trade mechanism for Iran, known as INSTEX.
Some officials are concerned that EU would pressure Iran into joining FATF as a condition for implementing the trade mechanism to facilitate trade with the country in the face of US sanctions.
Iran says the two issues are completely separate and must not be linked together.
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