Center at Iran’s Economy Ministry says no plans to join FATF

The Public Relations Office at the Center for Financial Information said on Thursday that no plans were currently under consideration to joint FATF.

It said the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance and the Center for Financial Information were fully monitoring the implementation of rules and regulations governing the fight against money laundering and the financial sponsorship of terrorism and “membership in FATF is by no means central to the activities of” the incumbent President Ebrahim Raisi administration.

“In international interactions, the development of relations with friendly and likeminded countries in the fight against money laundering and the financial sponsorship of terrorism is on the agenda, and even that within the framework of the code of practice ratified by the Supreme National Security Council,” the office said.

As of June 2022, Iran, along with North Korea and Myanmar, was on the FATF’s blacklist, officially known as the “Call for Action.” The global organization says Iran is sponsoring “terrorist” groups by supporting resistance groups such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.