Iran signals easing of position on FATF conventions
Iranian authorities say the country will re-examine anti-money laundering and terrorism financing conventions adopted by the global financial crime watchdog FATF.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday that Iran’s Expediency Council, a body responsible for decision-making on overarching issues and policies of the country, will re-examine FATF conventions in a bid to allow Iran to officially accept them.
Pezeshkian made the announcement in a meeting with entrepreneurs and business leaders in Tehran as he expressed hope that accepting FATF conventions would facilitate economic activity in the country.
The comments came hours after Iran’s finance minister Abdolnasser Hemmati said that the country’s top leadership had allowed renewed discussions on FATF conventions in the Expediency Council several years after the body stopped such debates fearing that the conventions may undermine Iran’s financial independence.
FATF restrictions imposed on Iran’s banking system will be removed once the country enacts the Palermo and the Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) conventions.
The Iranian parliament has approved the Palermo and the CFT, but Iran's Guardian Council, which is responsible for vetting parliament legislation, has refused to ratify them, citing the need for some amendments.
Iran has ratified other conventions and regulations adopted by the FATF.
The renewed push to examine Iran’s full accession to the FATF comes amid efforts by Pezeshkian and his administration to open up to the world and to improve an economy affected by global inflation and foreign sanctions.
In his presidential election campaign in mid-summer, Pezshkian criticized the lack of action on FATF issues.
He also vowed to revive a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that imposes restrictions on the country’s nuclear program in return for easing the sanctions.
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