A member of Iran's Chamber of Commerce has said the lack of willingness by foreign banks to deal with Iran is so severe that the decision of FATF, an international watchdog to place the country on its black list will not make much of difference.
The Financial Action Task Force, a multilateral organization overseeing compliance with anti-money laundering and transparency banking rules and regulations penalized Iran on February 21, by authorizing member states to take up strict counter-measures against Tehran for not passing appropriate financial safeguarding laws.
"We are in such a dire situation that being on FATF's black list practically will not make much of a difference in ou interactions with the rest of the world", Hassan Foroozan told IRNA news website in an interview on February 28.
He added that being black-listed has stopped all of Iran's international banking relation and most of its trade. Businesses are forced into limited transactions with higher costs, Foroozan said.
FATF asked Iran in 2017 to adopt legislation in support of financial transparency and against money-laundering and financing of terrorism. Iran's parliament passed a series of laws, but a constitutional body tasked with approving all laws refused to endorse two particular laws.
The constitutional watchdog is stacked with hardliners backed by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran's economy is already under severe pressure by U.S. economic sanctions, which have stopped its oil exports and most other trade relations.
