TEHRAN – A number of Qom seminary elites wrote a letter to Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, the chairman of the Expediency Council, warning that Iran’s accession to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will lead to the enemies’ complete dominance over Iran’s banking system.

In an open letter published on Wednesday, the Qom seminary elites pointed out that in the event of joining the FATF, the enemies can obtain banking information which will then be used to impose more effective sanctions against the Iranian nation, Mehr reported.

They also stated that the FATF has not considered any privileges for Iran for joining the body, which makes this deal “irrational”.

FATF has given Iran a February deadline to complete the necessary reforms regarding its removal from the task force's blacklist.

A bill to amend the anti-money laundering law had been approved by the cabinet ministers on November 8, 2017 and sent to the Guardian Council after a ratification by the Majlis.

However, the Guardian Council, after studying the bill, sent it back to Majlis after finding some faults with it. The Majlis insisted on its ratification and sent it to the Expediency Council, which acts as an arbitration between the Majlis and the Guardian Council.

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