Iran seeks technical help from India to shed FATF's blacklisted country tag: Official

Indore, Nov 26 (PTI) Iran has sought technical help from India through the Eurasian Group (EAG) so that it can be excluded from the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) blacklist by compliance of norms, a senior central government official said here on Tuesday.

India has assured support to Iran on sharing technical knowledge and expert advice through the EAG, he said.

Earlier this year, Iran retained its place on the FATF's blacklist over international banking and related rules.

Talking to reporters in Indore, Vivek Aggarwal, Additional Secretary of Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, said, "At present, Iran is on the blacklist of the FATF." Agarwal is attending the 41st plenary meeting of the EAG in Indore as the Head of the Indian Delegation (HOD). The five-day meeting of the EAG, involving nine member countries including India, began on Monday.

"Since Iran has joined the EAG as an observer, it has sought technical cooperation from the EAG regarding compliance with FATF standards," he said.

During the bilateral meeting between India and Iran, this west Asian country also sought help from India in this regard, Agarwal said.

"We have assured Iran of its (India's) support on sharing technical knowledge and expert advice through the EAG," he said.

The official said that the EAG and India are jointly planning to devise ways to provide technical assistance to Iran so that it can comply with the FATF standards.

Many countries have sought help from India with regard to compliance with the FATF standards and technical knowledge is being shared with them, he added.

The FATF has put India in the category of "regular follow-up" after assessing the country's efforts to implement measures to combat money laundering and terror financing. This is the highest rating given by this independent intergovernmental body.

Aggarwal said financial inclusion initiatives, such as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, a robust Aadhaar card identity framework, use of technology to check tax evasion and promotion of digital payments helped India achieve the highest FATF rating.

Replying to a question, he said the central government is considering regulating the online gaming industry in the country to curb money laundering and to combat terror financing as financial transactions were taking place in this area on a large scale.

Aggarwal is also the Director of India's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). The unit is using tools of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect financial crimes and tax evasion by investigating unusual money transactions in the country. PTI HWP MAS NP