As Iran's parliament debates whether or not to join the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) — a global organization that develops policies to combat money laundering — recent developments indicate such a move on the part of Tehran would be good news for the state of Israel.
Pressure from the FATF recently forced the Pakistani government to ban a terror-related organization (Jamat-ud-Dawa) as well as a financial organization with terrorist links (Falah-e-Insanyat Foundation). According to the same report, six Pakistani banks and 109 bankers are being investigated by Pakistani authorities for opening fake bank accounts. What is even more interesting is that Pakistan is not a FATF member, but a member of Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG). However the prospect of being moved to FATF’s blacklist has motivated it to take stringent action. Iran is currently not a member of any anti-money laundering or terror-financing-prevention treaty. Lawmakers have been debating whether to join the FATF and its associated agreements. So far, two parts of the FATF agreement have been approved by Iranian authorities. However two other requirements, namely joining the CFT (Combating the Financing of Terrorism) and the Palermo Convention (the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime) still need to be approved by the Expediency and Discernment Council.
