senior official:

EC not to ratify FATF bills after US anti-IRGC measure

TEHRAN (defapress) – A member of the Expediency Council Ayatollah Mojtahed Shabestari said that the body will not ratify FATF-related bills following Washington’s move to designate IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization.

News ID: 76818

Date: 15 April 2019 - 10:41

From the early days of the Islamic Revolution, US officials have adopted measures against Revolutionary bodies but their recent move against IRGC proves their utmost ‘stupidity and hostility’, he told MNA on Monday.

He went on to say that the Expediency Council will address the two remaining FATF-related bills in near future, adding, “these bills will be voted against in the general session of the council since those few individuals who agreed with the Palermo bill, have now understood the situation following the US measure.”

The two controversial FATF-related bills, namely the convention against the funding of terrorism (CFT) and the one joining the UN Convention on Transnational Crime (Palermo bill), have already been approved by the lawmakers in the Iranian Parliament and need to gain the approval of the Expediency Council after they were rejected by the Guardian Council.

FATF has given Iran an extended June deadline to complete the reforms necessary for joining the international body.

There are concerns among other officials and some lawmakers that joining the anti-money laundering body may pave the way for further sanctioning Iran.

Gholamreza Mesbahi Moghadam, a member of the Expediency Council, said on April 6 that the date for holding a session on reviewing FATF-related bills is still uncertain.

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