According to the International Iranian Stone Exhibition, in recent days, after the consideration of bills related to this issue in the Expediency Council by the order of the Supreme Leader of the Revolution, the proponents and opponents of Iran's accession to the FATF from different angles, their views They express. Meanwhile, the general public, experts and economic activists have welcomed the possibility of passing these bills. Bills that were submitted to the parliament by the cabinet in 1397 and after approval by the Guardian Council were sent to the Expediency Council. But after weeks of deliberation, no decision was finally made.

In this regard, "Taj Mohammad Qajavand", an economist and one of the managers with a history of the country's banking system, in an interview with IRNA, explained some of the benefits of Iran's joining this international organization for the country's economy and said: "This is an important issue to consider." At present, Iran's banking system meets most of the requirements of the FATF, and we have somehow imposed sanctions on ourselves because of some political concerns that can be controlled by measures.

He added: "Today, because of this performance, our country's name is on the FATF blacklist." But I want to make another important point; According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which is the largest international economic decision-making organization in the world, Iran's economy is ranked 7th, which is the worst risk rating. This number sends a message to investors around the world that they have to take the strongest risks to invest in Iran, so it is clear that they will be reluctant to participate in strengthening Iran's economy. In addition, global banks are reluctant to lend, finance and refinance with Iran.

The banking expert continued: "Iran's best ranking in this organization is related to the eighth government, which was in the fourth place in the OECD organization in terms of risk, even on the verge of entering the third place, but with the change of government, the trend was reversed and At the end of the tenth government, Iran was ranked seventh. Of course, with the implementation of Borjam, the risk situation in the Iranian market rose to 6th place, which unfortunately, again being on the FATF black list, we returned to 7th place. Therefore, as the first fundamental step to build global trust in Iran's economy and banking system, we need to get out of this black list.

Qajavand stressed the importance of passing FATF bills in reducing international transfer costs, noting that in a situation where Iran's banking system is considered risky, traders and merchants are forced to use indirect methods of currency transfer, such as exchange offices, for financial transactions with foreign parties. And it is the brokerages that receive between 10 and 15 percent commission for these exchanges. On the other hand, if Iranian banks could communicate with global banks, this figure would be significantly lower.

He considered the use of LC obligations or letter of credit instead of remittance system as another important advantage of leaving the FATF black list and explained: "In the current situation, global banks do not open LC credit for Iranian importers and exporters and therefore the central bank has to The remittance system should open credit for these people and statistics show that in recent months, 98% of goods are imported with this system. This issue can be considered a disaster for the country's trade because in this system there is a possibility of many abuses. In addition, in this system, the cost of goods for the Iranian buyer increases by about 25 to 40 percent.

"In the LC system, credit and investment risk are greatly reduced, and the central bank and operating banks can closely monitor the purchase of goods," he said. These days, it is heard from some senior bank managers that the studies conducted after Iran's inclusion in the FATF black list, indicate that 25% of the goods purchased through the remittance system were not shipped into the country. This phenomenon occurs because the seller receives all the money for his goods in cash and together, when he does not have LC credit. While in the LC system, through the supervision of global banks, the transaction process is done transparently and legally, and the payment amounts are gradually transferred to the seller's account through various stages from purchase to delivery of the goods.

He continued: "Another big disadvantage of using the remittance system is that in the current situation, the cash life of Iranian traders with foreign sellers is between 11 and 18 months, which is a very long time." In the event that there is no guarantee for the importer to receive the goods purchased in the country. In some cases, the delivered goods also conflict with the requested goods, and because no reputable international organization oversees the transaction, it is not possible to pursue the lost right.

Qajavand stressed: "These conditions are not only very prone to corruption, but also waste the country's capital." For example, some time ago, a remittance amount was opened for one of the country's petrochemicals from the National Development Fund to import the required equipment, but despite all the required currency being paid, the equipment was delivered incompletely to the country and the project is now feasible. Does not become.

The expert on economic issues continued: "Iran's continued presence in the FATF blacklist will deepen the distrust of global banks to Iranian banks, and this issue will make it possible for these banks to provide financing and refinancing to the country in the future." It should not be forgotten that many of the major projects that have been exploited in the country today have been implemented in recent decades through the receipt of the same financing.

In the end, he noted: to improve the country's economic situation, we have no choice but to improve our situation in terms of indicators considered by the OECD. The gradual improvement of Iran's export ranking and the reduction of investment risk in the country are the most important measures that must be taken, and Iran's removal from the FATF blacklist is a prerequisite for this. In addition, according to the country's top banking managers, being on this black list has only imposed a lot of costs on the country's economy and has no consequences.

* IRNA