Shafaq News- Washington
Iraq has accepted to work with an international financialmonitoring body to address deficiencies in combating money laundering,corruption, and terrorism financing, a US administration official told ShafaqNews on Friday, adding that Baghdad has already begun taking positive steps inthat direction.
In a written statement obtained exclusively by Shafaq Newsthrough the US Embassy in Baghdad, the official said after almost a two-year processto review Iraq’s anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorismregime, “Iraq has agreed to cooperatively work with the FATF to address itsmost strategic AML/CFT deficiencies.”
The official noted that Iraq has already begun takingpositive steps, and demonstrating political will to abide by FATF internationalstandards. “We encourage Iraq to continue this positive momentum and quicklyaddress its FATF action plan.”
Iraq made a “high-level political commitment” in June to work with FATF and the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force to strengthen its financial crime controls. Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi has also made economic reform, foreign investment, and anti-corruption central pillars of his program since taking office in May.
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