Iran has until February to make changes to its laws against money laundering and terrorism funding, or risk remaining with North Korea as the only two countries essentially blacklisted from participating in the international financial system.
The Iranian government has failed to make nine of the 10 changes to its financial system that it promised in order to combat terrorism funding, according to the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force. The FATF is charged with setting the standards to combat terrorist financing in the global finance system.
“The FATF is disappointed with Iran’s failure to implement its action plan to address its significant (anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism) deficiencies,” the organization said in a public statement.
Meanwhile, the 37-member organization cautions financial institutions around the world to continue to apply “enhanced due diligence” when dealing with Iran, which the FATF currently ranks as “high risk.”
The reforms Iran has promised but failed to enact include: identifying and freezing terrorist assets, in line with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions;
ensuring that financial institutions verify that wire transfers contain all the required information; and establishing a broader range of penalties for violations of money laundering. (Read the full list of nine items.)