Iran Legislation Watchdog Ratifies Parliamentary Amendment to CTF Law

“The legislation was found not to be in violation of the Constitution,” said Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei, speaking in a regular presser on Saturday.

The parliamentary legislation amends Iran’s law in accordance with standards set by the global anti-money laundering body, Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The amendment was meant to allow Iran to meet one of the requirements for getting out of FATF’s black list.

This is while Kadkhodaei had announced last month the council members had rejected the parliamentary amendments, sending the legislation back to the parliament.

Kadkhodaei said the council members had argued that introducing such amendments are not within the area of responsibility of the parliaments and they should instead be presented by the Judiciary.

Iran has for many years found itself in a blacklist of countries not doing enough to combat money laundering and terrorism financing by the G7-created FATF.

The Islamic Republic entered into talks with the FATF to get out of the body’s blacklist following the January 2016 implementation of the JCPOA.

But Iran’s accession to FATF has slowed down in recent months, over concerns among some officials that the move could endanger the country’s national security interests.

In its last meeting held on June 29, the FATF lamented Iran’s failure to amend its law, and gave the country until October to implement necessary reforms.

This is while Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei recently suggested that Iran did not have to join international conventions such as FATF when the consequences are not clear.

Speaking on June 20, the Leader said the parliament should pass legislation to combat money laundering according to its own criteria.