FATF, international criteria to combat money laundering, terrorism

EghtesadOnline: Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Monday that the Financial Action Task Force is an international criteria to combat money laundering and terrorism independent of the nuclear accord with the western governments.

News ID: ۷۶۹۲۵۶

06 September 2016

He made the remarks in reaction to criticism by the radical camp, saying that FATF has nothing to do with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, according to IRNA.

He said that criticism about FATF relating the international criteria on safe banking transactions to the JCPOA is totally irrelevant and that mentality of the critics is wrong though they express their views with good faith and 'we understand them'.

In fact, the criteria have been adopted by the United Nations to stem flow of money to the terrorist groups and the child killers such as Daesh, al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, he said.

On Iranian support to Hezbollah of Lebanon to drive the Israeli occupying regime from the Lebanese and Palestinian territories, he said that the Islamic Republic of Iran is proud of Hezbollah.

He said that prior to enforcing FATF, the government forwarded a bill to that effect to the former Majlis and it has been passed by the parliament.
He said that the number of the FATF member states are higher than UN members and that to broaden international financial and banking cooperation a set of international rules and regulations should be observed.

He gave assurances that Iran will never pass its domestic information to FATF.

On fight against terrorism, he said that the fact is that the Islamic Republic of Iran is a victim of terrorism and has suffered huge loses to this end, and that Iran is the harbinger in fight with terrorism but those terrorist groups using such polluted monitory networks are not eager to make their activities crystal clear.

Cooperation between Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah is regarded as source of pride for the Muslim World and the main problems are terrorist groups in the region and the world named as Daesh, al-Qaeda, al-Nusra and Taliban, he said.

The Iranian foreign ministry and the country's banking and financial systems should find a way to be connected to the international banking system in order to meet the demands of the private sector, he said.