Financial Action Task Force: Iran must fight money laundering, terror financing

Photo: Financial Action Task Force: Iran must fight money laundering, terror financing

Iran’s showing lack of comprehensive measures to fight terror financing and money laundering, International financial watchdog said Friday.

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force described the problem as "a significant vulnerability within the international financial system." Iran's problems include a lack of satisfactory legislation and regulations, it said.

The group, the international standard-setter on money laundering and counter-terrorist finance issues, contacted Iran, as well as some other countries, asking them to deal with vulnerabilities in their systems.

The other countries responded but Iran has not, said Rick McDonell, the group's executive secretary. He did not name the other countries.

The task force, known by its initials FATF, decided to make a statement about its concerns during a Wednesday-Friday plenary meeting.

"The FATF has repeatedly attempted to engage with Iran," McDonell said. "To date this has proved impossible, although this is still our aim.

"In these circumstances, and given the risks, the FATF has no option but to express its concerns publicly," he said.

The task force, made up of 32 countries and territories and 2 regional organizations, said it was asking its members' financial institutions to take the risk into account.

The FATF was established by the Group of Seven summit held in Paris in 1989, and its secretariat is housed at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.