The Expediency Council Rejects Another Bill Related to FATF Regulations

The Expediency Council of Iran declared the bill to amend the Anti-Money Laundering Law, one of four bills related to the implementation of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) regulations, as contrary to "the general policies of resistance economy, encouraging investment, food security, and economic security." Opponents of Iran's accession to FATF regulations, mainly from the opposition of President Hassan Rouhani's government, argue that this would block financial aid to "Hamas" and "Hezbollah." Proponents of joining this treaty assert that its opponents fear economic transparency and the prevention of banking corruption. On Sunday, September 18, Fars News Agency reported that Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, the head of the Expediency Council, announced the council's objections to this bill in a letter to the Secretary of the Guardian Council on September 4, and this council subsequently requested amendments from the Speaker of Parliament in a letter on September 7. The Expediency Council stated that the implementation of anti-money laundering regulations concerning the National Iranian Oil Company, the Organization for the Development and Renovation of Industries, the Central Bank, and the Central Insurance has "potential risks for the country in future conditions." The council's reference to "risks" for the National Oil Company and the Central Bank in the event of implementing the anti-money laundering law likely pertains to the issue of circumventing U.S. sanctions. Meanwhile, the council deemed the first clause of this bill, which states that buying and selling "off-network oil and pharmaceutical products is considered a crime," as contrary to "resistance economy policies." This body stated that this provision "disrupts the confrontation with the vulnerability of oil and gas export revenues and the diversification of sales methods." The council's objections come at a time when the anti-money laundering law is a domestic law in Iran, not an international treaty. Previously, on July 9, the Expediency Council had also announced that some clauses of the bill for Iran's accession to the Convention against Organized Crime were contrary to "national security policies" and some principles of the Constitution. However, Hossein Ali Amiri, the parliamentary deputy to the president, stated that according to the Constitution, the authority to determine national security issues lies with the Supreme National Security Council, not the Expediency Council. The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic called for the abandonment of Iran's accession to the Convention on Combating the Financing of Terrorism on the last day of Khordad and requested that Parliament independently establish its laws regarding anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism. Ten days prior, the Iranian Parliament had voted to keep this bill in abeyance for two months. Among the four bills related to the implementation of FATF regulations in Iran, only the bill to combat the financing of terrorism has been approved and enacted, which is a domestic law in Iran and differs from accession to the Convention on Combating the Financing of Terrorism. Previously, several members of Parliament, including Alireza Beigi, quoted Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, stating that although the implementation of FATF regulations does not have a direct connection to the JCPOA, European assistance in new negotiations with Iran depends on the implementation of these regulations. Meanwhile, in July, some media reported on a confidential letter from Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, to Ahmad Jannati, the Secretary of the Guardian Council, in which he described the approval of the four anti-money laundering bills as "necessary" in reference to the decisions of the second meeting of the "Supreme Economic Coordination Council." The "Financial Action Task Force" (FATF) is an intergovernmental organization established in 1989 at the initiative of the G7 countries to conduct assessments of the status of anti-money laundering laws in various financial markets worldwide and report the results to member countries every four months so that these countries can assess investment risks in targeted financial markets and exercise caution regarding investors going to "suspicious countries."