Tabnak – As part of its attempts to modify and strengthen the regulations overseeing economic activates, Iran’s Expediency Council has approved a bill to combat money laundering. However, disagreement about similar international regulations to be accepted by Iran still persists.
Council member Gholam-reza Mesbahi Moghddam told Fars news agency on Saturday that the approved bill, which had been declared flawed by the Guardian Council, was finalized based on the constitution and would be sent to the parliament speaker for referral to the government.
"The Expediency Council had accepted the viewpoints of the parliament in some cases and the Guardian Council in others," he added.
However, the approved law has nothing to do with the controversial combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) bill, one of the four articles put forward by the government to meet standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Last November, the Guardian Council found "flaws and ambiguities" in the CFT. Guardian Council spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei said on Saturday that the CFT had once again been sent to the parliament.
Last October, FATF gave Iran four months to implement its commitments after a meeting of its members in Paris. The international body announced it would continue suspending counter-measures, which can go as far as limiting or even banning transactions with a country.
The FATF said Iran had acted on only nine out of 10 of its guidelines despite pledges to make the grade and warned the country that it could face consequences if it fails to act fast.
"We expect Iran to move swiftly to implement the commitments that it undertook at a high level so long ago," the FATF president Marshall Billingslea said after chairing the meeting.
"In line with that, we expect that it will have adopted all of these measures by February. If by February 2019 Iran has not yet done so, then we will take further steps," he added.
The FATF is facing US opposition to remove Iran from an economic blacklist despite the steps that Tehran has taken to enact legislation barring terrorist financing and money laundering.
Iran’s removal from the blacklist had gained support in European capitals but a flurry of visits by a top US official to France and other European countries thwarted the bid in February.
The FATF is a non-government organization founded in 1989 to develop policies to tackle money laundering. In 2001, its mandate was expanded to include fight against terror financing.
