BRICS Establishes Working Groups For Anti-Money Laundering Practices

The head of the financial information center of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance, Mr. Hadi Khani, told media sources on Sunday that the council was comprised of the Chairmen of anti-money laundering departments or Chief Information Officers of the member states to discuss ideas to set up working groups on anti-money laundering efforts.

According to the spokesman, the Islamic Republic of Iran has gained membership status at the council due to the efforts made by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance, and also by the Anti-Money Laundering High Council.

Khani said that the Council for Combating Money Laundering has been held three times since they discussed plans of the secretariat in addition to the cooperation and interaction between the members to achieve this campaign’s objectives regarding combating money laundering and terrorism financing.

The Fruitful Discussion Initiated By BRICS Countries In Feb 2024

The first virtual meeting of the BRICS nations under the Russian presidency was held on the 09th of February, 2024 to discuss ways of Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism.

The meeting targeted how to maximize the effectiveness of national anti-money laundering schemes and look for possible other joint actions meant to improve financial security globally. The attendees shared their thoughts on various ways to enhance the transparency of financial systems, improve private and public partnerships, as well as involve the youth in the campaign to build financial security.

The State Secretary, Deputy Director of Federal Financial Monitoring Service, German Neglyad shared his thoughts; “I consider that the council’s growth will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the organization’s operations and strengthen the anti-money laundering frameworks of the associated nations.”

In January, Russian Central Bank Head Elvira Nabillina mentioned that the “BRICS countries were discussing the interaction of national financial message transmission systems among each other, and from 20 different jurisdictions, more than 159 individuals have already participated in this Russian initiation.”

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Contemporary Development In The BRICS Agenda

At the start of this month, CBI Deputy Governor Mohsen Karimi confirmed that BRICS has agreed on the agenda of the CBI’s proposal regarding establishing the group’s system allocated to the correspondent payments system, like SWIFT, and creating an organization for fighting money laundering and terrorism financing which would be similar to the intergovernmental FATF.

As stated by media sources, Russian banks that have been isolated from SWIFT after the start of the war with Ukraine in February 2022, also have shown interest in other alternative ways. Since that time, those countries have been working to develop alternatives or open new avenues for action.

The BRICS community as the biggest emerging economies, should create their own settlement terms which would help to achieve a united financial system in which “the Iranian side can have a heavy influence,”, said Karimi.

The Council has begun its function and the next meeting is planned in Russia in April according to Khani. It is worth noting, that the member states set the aim to transform this council into a mechanism that will ensure that members’ interests will be fulfilled.