In about 10 days from now, the Financial Action Task Force–an international anti-money laundering group–will hold its regular plenary meeting in Paris to consider, among other items on its agenda, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s progress report on implementing an action plan to improve its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism system.
Under the action plan agreed upon in June 2016, Iran committed itself to enforce a set of tough standards in its entire financial and banking system within 18 months. At the end of the timeline, FATF, in its upcoming meeting, should decide whether measures taken by Iran are satisfactory enough for the group to fully delist the country from its non-cooperative list.
There are clear indications that an absolute majority of FATF members are convinced by Iran’s progress report and would lend their support to a favorable conclusion for the country. However, the administration of US President Donald Trump is working hard to influence what is supposed to be a technical decision by this multilateral body.