The Iranian Embassy has urged banks here to consider allowing Iranians to open accounts on a case-by-case basis, giving the assurance that it can provide any background checks the financial institutions need.
Ambassador Ali Asghar Mohammadi said while he understands there is a guideline issued to banks calling for enhanced due diligence on Iranians, he explained that it also advises them against applying a blanket policy.
“We have scientists, academics, students and genuine businessmen here who badly need bank accounts. We have issued letters addressed to banks on their behalf but it is not working.
“This is making life extremely difficult for those already here and others who are planning to come over for bona fide reasons,” he told FMT, adding that a new notice to banks advises them to consider applications on a case-by-case basis.
He said this was one of the main reasons the number of Iranians in Malaysia had dropped to less than 10,000 from about 120,000 a decade ago.
Bank Negara Malaysia’s financial intelligence and enforcement department reminded the banks of the need to apply effective countermeasures and targeted financial sanctions (TFS) in accordance with the United Nations sanctions against North Korea and Iran.
It said the inter-governmental global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has issued an update on the monitoring processes.
“The FATF’s call for action to apply effective countermeasures and TFS in accordance with the applicable United Nations Security Council Resolutions against North Korea remains in effect.
“In accordance with anti-money laundering (AML), combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) and TFS policy documents, institutions are required to conduct enhanced customer due diligence for business relationships and transactions with any person from the country including those acting on their behalf,” it said.
The countermeasures, said the central bank, include limiting business relationships and financial transactions with North Korea and its companies, financial institutions and those acting on their behalf, and terminating correspondent relationships with its banks.
In the process, banks should take a risk-based approach rather than de-risking or the wholesale cutting loose of entire classes of customers, without taking into account serious and comprehensive levels of mitigation measures for individual customers within a particular sector.
The department said Jordan, Mali and Turkey have been included in the FATF’s increased monitoring process. Botswana and Mauritius have been removed from the FATF’s monitoring process due to the significant progress made in improving its AML and CFT regimes.
Source: freemalaysiatoday
