AML LAW GOES TO PARLIAMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 001837

SIPDIS

TREASURY FOR GLASER/ZARATE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/04/2015
TAGS: PREL EFIN KTFN ETTC PGOV JO
SUBJECT: AML LAW GOES TO PARLIAMENT


Classified By: Charge d'Affaires David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b),(d),a
nd (e)


1. (SBU) Finance Minister Mohammed Abu Hammour informed
Charge on March 5 that Jordan's Cabinet had approved the
anti-money laundering (AML) bill that it had been considering
over the past month. Abu Hammour had consulted with
Abdul-Hadi al-Majali, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies,
and noted to him that the bill was among those marked as
"urgent" by the GOJ for priority attention. Given the large
number of bills and the short time remaining in the current
Parliamentary session (which ends March 31),Abu Hammour told
Charge that the GOJ could only "hope" that the law would be
passed during this sitting. Otherwise, the law would be
considered in the extraordinary summer session.


2. (C) The AML bill, first drafted by the Central Bank of
Jordan (CBJ) with the assistance of the IMF in early 2003,
had initially been sent back by the Cabinet to the CBJ to be
rewritten, then was placed on the backburner by the GOJ for
some time. After sustained USG engagement on the issue, the
GOJ has moved the passage of the bill to the top of its
agenda.
HALE