Iran blacklisted by global dirty money watchdog

The Financial Action Taskforce (FATF), a global dirty money watchdog, on Friday placed Iran on its blacklist after it failed to comply with international anti-terrorism financing norms, Reuters reports.

The decision came after more than three years of warnings from the Paris-based FATF urging the Islamic Republic to either enact terrorist financing conventions or see its reprieve from the blacklist lifted and some counter-measures imposed.

“Given Iran’s failure to enact the Palermo and Terrorist Financing Conventions in line with the FATF Standards, the FATF fully lifts the suspension of counter-measures and calls on its members and urges all jurisdictions to apply effective counter-measures,” the group’s 39 members said in a statement after a week-long plenary session.

These would entail more scrutiny of transactions with Iran, tougher external auditing of financing firms operating in the country and extra pressure on the few foreign banks and businesses still dealing with Iran.

“The consequence of (Iran’s) inaction is higher costs of borrowing and isolation from the financial system,” a Western diplomat told Reuters.

The United States commended the task force’s action after what it said was Tehran’s failure to adhere to FATF’s standards.

Iran “must face consequences for its continued failure to abide by international norms,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

Iran’s central bank chief, Abdolnasser Hemmati, dismissed FATF’s decision.

“(It) is politically motivated and not a technical decision. I can assure our nation that it will have no impact on Iran’s foreign trade and the stability of our exchange rate,” he said, according to Reuters.

Iran has faced crippling sanctions in recent years, mostly from the US after it withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

In late January, the US announced new sanctions on the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran as well as its chief officer, Ali Akbar Salehi.

In response to the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal and its imposition of sanctions, Iran has scaled back its compliance with the 2015 deal.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)