FinCEN Gives Iran a Bit of Financial Breathing Room
Iran has won a slight reprieve in FinCEN’s latest advisory for anti-money laundering and countering terrorism measures.
The Sept. 7 notice “conditionally” suspends the call for countermeasures against the country for 12 months. “Iran has made progress in adopting and making high-level commitments to an action plan to address its strategic anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing deficiencies,” the notice said. That was good enough to move Iran from the countries requiring countermeasures to nations needing “enhanced due diligence.”
Still, “U.S. financial institutions are still subject to a broad range of restrictions and prohibitions on engaging in transactions with or involving Iran due to a number of illicit financing risks, including money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of Iran’s ballistic missile program. U.S. financial institutions must continue to comply with existing U.S. sanctions on Iran,” FinCEN said.
North Korea remains in the countermeasures category because of it operates as a center for global financial crime. Meanwhile, the federal agency lists the following countries as having “deficiencies” in their AML/CFT standards: Afghanistan, Bosnia/Herzegovina. Guyana, Iraq, Laos, Syria, Uganda, Vanuatu and Yemen.
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