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Islamic
Republic of Iran
MONEY
LAUNDERING LAW
Article 1.
All
Commercial transactions are assumed to be valid, as
discussed in Article 2 of the Commercial Code, unless the
opposite is proved on the basis of the articles of this law.
Possession of a property with ownership claim is a proof to
ownership of it.
Article 2.
Money
Laundering Consists of:
a) Acquisition, possession, keeping or using the proceeds
from illegal activities with the knowledge that they have
been acquired directly or indirectly through a criminal
offence.
b) Change, exchange, or transfer of proceeds with the
intention of hiding their illegal origin with knowledge that
they have been acquired directly or indirectly through a
criminal offence ,or helping the offender in such a way that
the legal effects and consequences of the commitment of that
crime would not involve him/her.
c) Hiding or covering up the real nature, origin, source,
location, movement, displacement, or possession of proceeds
obtained directly or indirectly as a result of an offence.
Article 3.
Proceeds
gained as a result of the commitment of an offence means any
property obtained directly or indirectly from criminal
activities.
Article 4.
In order
to coordinate the relevant organizations to collect, process
and analyze the news, documents, information and received
reports, to prepare intelligent systems, identify suspicious
transactions and combat money laundering crimes, the High
Council on Anti-Money Laundering_ chaired by the Minister of
Economic Affairs and Finance, and membership of the
Ministers of Commerce, Intelligence, Interior, Governor of
the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be
formed with the following duties:
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Collecting the relevant news and information;
technically and professionally analyzing and classifying
them according to the law, in cases there are evidences
of offence.
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Preparing and offering necessary by-laws to the Council
of Ministers regarding implementation of the Law.
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Coordinating the relevant organizations and following up
the full implementation of the Law in the country.
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Evaluating the received reports and forwarding them to
the Judiciary System in case their accuracy is most
probable and/or its contingent is serious.
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Sharing the experiences and information with similar
organizations in other countries within the context of
the article (12).
Clause 1-
The Secretariat of the Council will be established at the
Ministry of Economic and Financial Affairs.
Clause 2- the Council of Ministers will approve the
executive structure of the council, in accordance with its
legal duties, at the Council’s suggestion.
Clause 3- All the executive by–laws of the
aforementioned Council will be binding on all relevant
natural and legal persons, after their approval by the
Council of Ministers. Violators will be sentenced to 2-5
years discharge from service, at the discretion of judicial
and administrative authorities.
Article 5.
All legal
entities including the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic
of Iran, banks, financial and credit institutions, insurance
companies, the Central Insurance, interest-free funds,
charity organizations and institutions, and municipalities
are obligated to implement the by-laws approved by the
Council of Ministers.
Article 6.
Notary
public offices, lawyers, accountants, auditors, authorized
specialists of Justice Ministry, and official inspectors are
obligated to produce the information necessary for the
implementation of this law, as approved by the Council of
Ministers, at the request of the High Council on Anti-Money
Laundering.
Article 7.
Individuals and organizations subject to this law (subjects
of Articles 5 and 6) are obligated to observe the following
points based on their type of activity and organizational
structure:
a) Verification of the identity of the client, and where
relevant verification of the identity and relationship of
the client's representative or proxy, as well as
verification of the identity of the principal, in case there
are evidences of offence.
Clause: approval of this law does not contradict the
cases required in other rules and regulations related to the
identity verification.
b) Provision of information, reports, documents, and
evidence to the Anti-Money Laundering High Council within
the by-law approved by the Council of Ministers.
c) Reporting of suspicious transaction and operations to a
competent authority as designated by Anti-Money Laundering
High Council.
d) Maintenance of records on client identification, account
history, operations and transactions as long as determined
in the executive by-law.
e) Establishing internal control measures and training
managers and personnel in order to comply with the provision
of the law and its by-laws.
Article 8.
The
information and documents collected in the implementation of
this law will be used solely in connection with the
objectives stated in the Anti-Money Laundering law and its
predicate offences. Disclosure of the information or its use
directly or indirectly by government officials or other
individuals, stated in this law, for their own benefit or
the benefit of others, is prohibited, and the offender will
be Punished in accordance with the law on the Punishment for
the Distribution and Disclosure of confidential and Secret
State Documents dated 18/02/1974.
Article 9.
Those who
engage in the crime of money laundering will, in addition to
returning the assets and the proceeds derived from the crime
comprising the original assets and the profits there of (and
if nonexistent, the equivalent or the price), be sentenced
to a fine of one fourth of the value of the proceeds of the
crime which should be deposited into the public Revenues
Account with the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of
Iran.
Clause1. If the proceeds have been transformed or
changed into other property, the said property will be
seized.
Clause2. The order to seize the assets and their
derived profits can be issued and exercised if the accused
has not been subject to this order under predicate offences.
Clause3. If those who commit predicate offences also
commit money laundering in addition to being sentenced for
the offence committed, they will be subject to the
punishments set out in this law.
Article
10.
All the
affairs that need judicial action or authority for
implementation of this law should be carried out according
to the regulations. The Judiciary System is obliged to
cooperate in accordance with the regulations.
Article 11.
A number
of general courts in Tehran and if necessary in provincial
centers will be allocated to the investigation of money
laundering. The specialization of the court will not prevent
it from trying other cases.
Article
12.
In cases
where an agreement on judicial and intelligence assistance
pertaining to anti-money laundering, between the Islamic
Republic of Iran and other countries has been ratified,
cooperation will take place according to the terms of the
agreement.
The above Law, comprised of twelve articles and seven
clauses, was approved in the open session of the Islamic
Parliament on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 and approved by the
Guardian Council on February 6, 2008.
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