Iran, Spain to enhance FATF-related cooperation against money laundering
Representatives from Iran and Spain, which is scheduled to host an upcoming meeting with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Tehran’s file, agreed to boost cooperation on tackling money laundering and overcoming FATF-related challenges, Mehr news agency reported on Saturday.
At the request of the Spanish Embassy, Spain’s ambassador to Tehran, Antonio Sánchez-Benedito Gaspar, on Wednesday met Hadi Khani, Iran’s head of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), to discuss ways to deepen collaboration.
The Iranian deputy economy minister outlined the FIU’s activities and achievements, saying Iran’s measures against money laundering and financial crimes “go far beyond international recommendations and standards.”
He added that despite US sanctions and regional risks, Iran had advanced faster than many countries in implementing anti-money laundering steps.
Khani, who also serves as secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for the Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, urged Spain to work with its European partners to help Iran overcome FATF-related challenges.
The Spanish envoy, for his part, welcomed Iran’s proposals, praised the FIU’s efforts, and pledged to use “all possible efforts” to strengthen bilateral ties in preventing and combating money laundering.
Spain, the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy and the world’s 15th-largest, is a key FATF member and will host Iran’s upcoming meeting with the international watchdog.