Japan to assist in normalizing Iran’s FATF status
The head of Japan’s delegation to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) announced that Tokyo intends to support the process of normalizing Iran’s status and helping it exit the list of high-risk countries for money laundering and terrorist financing.
According to a report by IRNA on Saturday, Hadi Khani, the secretary of the High Council for the Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing who also heads Iran’s Financial Intelligence Unit, met with Mitsutoshi (Toshi) Kajikawa, the deputy vice minister of finance for international affairs at Japan’s Ministry of Finance.
Toshi also serves as the head of Japan’s delegation to FATF and co-chair of the Asia/Pacific Group (APG) on money laundering.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 41st Eurasian Group (EAG) Plenary Meeting in Indore, India, which was held on November 25-29.
During the meeting, Toshi expressed satisfaction with Iran’s progress in combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
He stated that Japan is committed to helping normalize Iran’s status within FATF and will serve as a voice for Iran’s efforts among the G7 nations, which are the founding members of FATF.
Both sides also discussed strategies for sharing knowledge and expertise in areas such as cryptocurrency regulation and combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
Iran has taken significant steps toward implementing the FATF’s action plan, including passing key legislation to align with international standards on anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT).
Officials have expressed hope that these measures will improve Iran’s standing and facilitate its reintegration into the global financial system.