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Anti-money-laundering body gives Iran until Feb to complete reforms

October 20, 2018 at 1:02 pm

The international group that monitors money-laundering worldwide said on Friday Iran had until February to complete reforms that would bring it into line with global norms or face consequences, reports Reuters.

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force said after a meeting of its members that it was disappointed that Tehran had acted on only nine out of 10 of its guidelines despite pledges to make the grade. It had previously set a deadline of October to complete all 10 reforms.

“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,” said Marshall Billingslea, the US assistant Treasury Secretary for terrorist financing.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said he welcomed the decision to extend the deadline to February, the state news agency IRNA reported.

Iran’s parliament approved some new measures against funding terrorism earlier this month under pressure to adopt international standards.

READ: Iran parliament passes measures against funding terrorism

Members of FATF had already given Tehran until this month to bring its laws against money-laundering and funding of terrorism up to its guidelines. Otherwise, Iran risked being returned to a blacklist of non-compliant countries that makes foreign investors and banks reluctant to deal with it.

Britain, France and Germany are trying to keep some financial channels open to Iran after the United States pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal in May and re-imposed sanctions.

READ: Major powers, Iran meet to salvage nuclear deal without US