BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 7. Iran's foreign trade will not develop or strengthen without joining the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the head of Iran’s Export Confederation Mohammad Lahouti told reporters, Trend reports.
In a statement to Iranian media, Lahouti emphasized that while the sanctions imposed on Iran do negatively impact the country's economy and foreign trade, the more significant issue is Iran's inclusion in FATF's blacklist.
Lahouti noted that due to the current government's efforts, there are expectations that the challenges regarding Iran's FATF membership will soon be resolved. He stressed that Iran risks losing trade partners like Russia and China without this development.
Currently, China and Russia trade with most European and American countries. Due to FATF measures, conducting financial transactions with these nations will no longer be possible, causing Iran to lose these markets as well, Lahouti said.
“If the issue of Iran joining FATF is not resolved, no business people will want to trade with Iranians. In that case, Iranian businessmen will be forced to engage in traditional trade methods to bypass sanctions. This will lead to increased costs for Iranian entrepreneurs and result in losing market competition,” he added.
On December 31, 2024, Iran’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance, Abdolnaser Hemmati, confirmed that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei had approved the review of two FATF conventions—the CFT and Palermo conventions—by the Expediency Council.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is an intergovernmental body that regulates the rules for combating money laundering and terrorist financing. At the last meeting of this organization, Iran was warned that if the country's program of steps is not improved, Iran may be added to the list of non-cooperative countries. Iran has complied with 37 out of 41 FATF steps.
The remaining four steps or conventions fall under the scope of the legislation. "Amendments to the Law on Combating Money Laundering," "Amendments to the Law on Combating the Financing of Terrorism," "Accession to the International Convention on Combating Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo)," and Accession to the International Convention on Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) have been drafted by the Iranian government and sent to the parliament. Although the four conventions were approved by the parliament and sent to the Advisory Council, the CFT conventions and the Palermo Convention have not yet been approved by the mentioned council.
The FATF was founded in 1989 at the behest of the G7 group to
address money laundering. The organization comprises 37 members,
with its administration situated in Paris.
Since 2007, Iran has been designated as a high-risk jurisdiction by
the FATF, with formal sanctions enacted on Tehran in 2009.
Consequently, nations needed to exercise prudence in financial and
banking transactions with Iran. Since 2016, diplomatic initiatives
have postponed the implementation of retaliatory actions on
Iran.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) designated Iran as a
non-cooperative country (blacklist) on February 21, 2020.