IMF Optimism on Iran's 'Confidence-Building' Measures

A senior official from the International Monetary Fund expressed hope regarding Iran's 'confidence-building' measures in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing. The 'Weekly Standard' reported on Thursday, July 1, quoting David Lipton, the first deputy managing director of the IMF, who expressed optimism about Tehran's ability to gain global trust in Iran's economy, stating that while the lifting of sanctions has presented opportunities for Iran, they are working to regain global confidence. During a speech at the Carnegie Endowment, he said, 'Iran wants to open accounts in foreign banks, and they are doing so.' The report adds that after months of sanctions being lifted, international companies are still hesitant to invest in the country due to Iran's history of money laundering and its support for terrorism. According to the report, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, after Iran's dissatisfaction, has launched a campaign encouraging the global community to resume financial interactions with Iran so that the Islamic Republic can benefit from the lifting of sanctions. With the implementation of the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, known as the JCPOA, nuclear sanctions against Iran were lifted in January of this year. Mr. Lipton welcomed the Financial Action Task Force's actions to suspend some restrictions against Iran. This international group, which monitors money laundering worldwide, decided on Friday to keep Iran on the blacklist of high-risk countries. Despite this decision, the organization announced that it welcomes Iran's promises for improvement and will suspend some restrictions for one year. He stated that the Central Bank of Iran is working on implementing measures to combat money laundering and the regime for monitoring terrorism financing, and in this regard, has passed the law on combating terrorism financing. He noted that while this action is not comprehensive, it is a start. 'This action provides assurance of facing consequences and legal enforceability against banks that engage in illegal activities.' He mentioned that particularly European business entities are curious about engaging with Iran: 'They want to re-establish (in Iran). They want to participate (in Iran's projects). There is less negative sentiment about Iran now, although I am not saying that Europeans are ready to act, but they want to go and take a look at the situation.'