BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 25. The development of 13 percent in the mining sector will not be possible until the issue of Iran's accession to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is resolved, Deputy Head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Mohammadreza Bahraman told local media, Trend reports.
According to him, attracting investments totaling 55 billion euros is essential for the development of the mining sector. All development initiatives for the mining sector should be delegated to the private sector. The private sector has the capacity to draw both domestic and foreign investment.
Bahraman asserted that the business sector is endeavoring to safeguard its partnerships during conversations with foreign entities, notwithstanding the challenges posed by sanctions. The primary issue is that financial transfers encounter stringent limitations, such as those imposed by the FATF. The FATF has thrown a wrench in the works, driving up Iran's trade costs and putting a damper on large companies' willingness to do business with the country. This pickle goes beyond the sanctions the US has thrown at Iran, and it's high time Iran gets its ducks in a row to sort it out.
“The Iranian government should immediately develop a program to get off the FATF blacklist. Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture can play a supporting role in this direction,” he said.
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 since 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.
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