The Implementation of the FATF Recommendations in Iran: Trends and Challenges

Abstract

Today, Money Laundering has become one of the controversial issues in criminal law and political affairs of most countries of the world, especially developing countries. Indeed, it is an organized and transnational crime which represents somehow part of the unhealthy economic system of that country. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has established in 1989 as one of the solutions to fight money laundering and as a response to growing concerns about this issue, it published 40 recommendations on money laundering and nine on terrorism financing (expanded after the 11 September terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York in 2001). In this article, we are going to illustrate the implementation of the FATF recommendations in Iran as one of the developing countries which was blacklisted in 2009 in line with the start of sanctions in relation to its unclear activities. Then, it will be illustrated a list of Iranian anti-money laundering laws and regulations, and international treaties on cooperation in preventing and combating money laundering. And finally, since the Banks provide the best ground for money laundering the comparison between obligations of financial institutions according to the FATF recommendations and obligations according to the Iranian Anti Money Laundering (AML) law are considered.