Mahmoud Sadeghi Reports Leader's Agreement on Anti-Money Laundering Bills

Mahmoud Sadeghi, a representative from Tehran in the parliament, has reported that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has agreed to the approval of anti-money laundering bills. On Friday, September 6, he wrote on his Twitter page: 'I heard from reliable sources that the leadership has expressed agreement with the anti-money laundering bills.' The parliament representative did not provide further explanation on this matter. The government of Hassan Rouhani presented four bills to the parliament to prevent Iran from being placed on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklist: 'Joining the Convention against Organized Crime,' 'Joining the Convention against the Financing of Terrorism,' 'Amending the Anti-Money Laundering Law,' and 'Amending the Law on Combating the Financing of Terrorism,' but only the amendment to the law on combating the financing of terrorism has been approved. The President of Iran announced the new law on combating the financing of terrorism, one of the laws related to the implementation of FATF regulations, for execution on August 11. However, the three related bills have not been approved due to opposition from the leader of the Islamic Republic and the Guardian Council. Following the recommendation of the FATF, the government of Hassan Rouhani sent the bill to amend the anti-money laundering law to the parliament on November 8, 2017, and after much review and struggle, the parliament approved it in May of this year and referred it to the Guardian Council for opinion. The Guardian Council recognized this bill as being contrary to four provisions of sacred Islamic law and the constitution and returned it to the parliament for amendment. Hassan Rouhani had previously requested 'assistance' from the Guardian Council in reviewing the four bills related to the implementation of FATF regulations. Opponents of Iran's accession to the Convention against the Financing of Terrorism argue that this would block the way for financial aid to 'Hamas' and 'Hezbollah.' Proponents of Iran's accession to this treaty argue that its opponents fear economic transparency and preventing banking corruption.