Tehran, Iran, Oct.23
Trend:
The adoption of FATF in the Guardian Council of Iran is one of the demands of the private sector of Iran and this sector demands Iran to join all international conventions that the world accepts, an analyst told Trend.
"The membership in such conventions has nothing to do with sanctions or the United States. Russia, China and India, which we think are our allies, have explicitly stated that in the absence of membership in this financial group, can’t work with us. This issue has nothing to do with politics and is just standardization," Ferial Mostofi, the head of Investment & Consultancy Center of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, said.
International Financial Action Task Force (FATF), following a meeting at its Paris headquarters this week, welcomed the legislation and extended a suspension of counter-measures that has allowed Iran to escape further isolation from international finance sector.
“Apart from Iran and North Korea, all major economies in the world have agreed to work in accordance to this regulation,” said Mostofi.
"Of course, other countries are also sensitive to their information and secrets, and they do not want to give this vital information to another country. Now, when all countries are members of such a group, it is clear that the goal is not to give away vital information but that the group only works in the field of money laundering and financial misconduct," he explained.
In a statement, the FATF said it will review Iran's remaining legislation once it is in place to determine whether Tehran had met its demands.
Iran is one of only two countries on the FATF blacklist. The other is North Korea, and Friday's statement reiterated "serious concerns" about the Asian country's illicit activities to finance its missile and nuclear programs.
"This is not a political matter, and it's completely technical. I do not know how it turned out to be so political concern for us and why we are so terrified about it. These internal stances are actually more harmful than US sanctions against the country," Mostofi said.
"Membership in FATF has a huge impact on Iran's ranking in international economic affairs. The way we deal with this issue indicates that Iran is to blame for low rankings in economic indicators and not the US or the West," he said.