Iran’s judiciary chief says that government officials must not make accusations of vast money-laundering operations by powerful institutions, which could be exploited by the enemy.
The criticism follows statements by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to the Khabar Online news agency last week, in which he said: “Money laundering is a reality in our country, and a lot of people are benefiting from it.”
Zarif said “thousands of billions” of rials were being laundered by unnamed organizations in Iran, and that these groups were behind efforts to block new laws against money-laundering and terrorist-financing.
“If there is huge money-laundering in the country, why did you not report this to the judiciary?” says Sadegh Larijani, judiciary chief, in a speech today, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.
“The enemy’s best tool is economic pressure… In such a situation, officials are expected not to make two-sided statements that could be misused by the enemy,” he adds, without naming Zarif.
The government introduced four new laws this year aimed at meeting demands set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which monitors global efforts to counter money-laundering and terrorist-financing.
— AFP
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