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Iran approves anti-money laundering bill
TEHRAN, Jan 5, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – An Iranian arbitration body gave its approval
on Saturday to an anti-money laundering bill seen as crucial to maintaining
international trade and banking ties, the official IRNA news agency reported.
“The bill on amending the law to counter money laundering was approved with
certain changes and will be sent to the parliament speaker to be communicated
to the government,” Expediency Council member Gholamreza Mesbahi-Moghadam
told IRNA.
The Expediency Council settles disputes between parliament, which approved
the bill last year, and the conservative-dominated Guardian Council, which
vets all legislation and had rejected it.
Conservatives have argued that new legislation on money laundering and
terrorist financing will provide Western powers with leverage over Iran’s
economy and how it funds regional allies such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
But the government of President Hassan Rouhani says the laws are needed to
meet demands set by by the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF),
which monitors countries’ efforts to tackle financial crime.
Iran is alone with North Korea on the FATF’s blacklist — although the
Paris-based organisation has suspended counter-measures since June 2017 while
Iran works on reforms.
The FATF will meet again in February to discuss Iran’s progress.
The government is hoping to salvage banking and trade ties after the United
States walked out of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between major powers and
Iran and reimposed crippling unilateral sanctions.
The other parties to the deal — Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia
— have sought to salvage the agreement and maintain trade with Iran, but
have called on Tehran to meet FATF requirements.
The anti-money laundering bill is one of four pieces of legislation put
forward by the government to that end.
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A previous bill on the mechanics of monitoring and preventing terrorist
financing was signed into law in August.
Two others — allowing Iran to join UN conventions against terrorist-
financing and organised crime — have been approved by parliament but are
still being delayed by higher authorities, including the Guardian Council.
The Expediency Council currently has 38 members, all appointed by supreme
leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
BSS/AFP/SR/1730 HRS