AML LAW DEFERRED

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 002328 SIPDIS TREASURY FOR GLASER/ZARATE E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/04/2015 TAGS: EFIN KTFN ETTC PGOV JO SUBJECT: AML LAW DEFERRED REF: AMMAN 1837 Classified By: CDA Christopher Henzel for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) In a procedural vote March 20, the Chamber of Deputies, Jordan's lower house of Parliament, declined to give "urgent" status to the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) bill approved by the GOJ Cabinet on March 5 (reftel). After hearing a defense of the bill's importance from Justice Minister Salah al-Bashir, who presented it as a measure that would "enhance the competitiveness of Jordan's banking sector" by ensuring that it met international standards, the deputies voted to refer the bill, without a date for a final vote, to a joint committee drawn from the Legal and Finance and Economic Committees. ¶2. (C) Bashir told CDA March 20 that the vote would postpone a measure he regards as essential to protecting Jordan's reputation. Chamber of Deputies Finance and Economic Committee Chairman Hisham Dabbas told CDA the same day he was confident the AML bill would pass, but it would now be delayed until the extraordinary session of Parliament that he expects in June ¶3. (C) COMMENT: The Chamber's decision to strip the AML bill of its status as an "urgent" measure is a substantial setback. The many other bills that are currently under consideration by the Chamber makes it unlikely that the newly established joint committee tasked with reviewing the bill will present its report on the AML bill (setting the stage for a vote) before the end of the current session on March ¶31. Our understanding is that the bill can indeed be considered and approved during an extraordinary session of Parliament, but only if it is listed in the royal decree issued by the King setting the agenda for such a session. Otherwise, the bill would be deferred until the next ordinary session, which will begin in the Autumn/Winter of 2005. Post will continue to press the GOJ to move this bill through Parliament. HENZEL