FATF/IRAN STATEMENT - TAJIK SUPPORT ON THE FINANCIAL FRONT

UNCLAS DUSHANBE 001611 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR ISN, T, TREASURY, SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PARM PREL MNUC ECON TI SUBJECT: FATF/IRAN STATEMENT - TAJIK SUPPORT ON THE FINANCIAL FRONT REF: STATE 149648 ¶1. (SBU) Post delivered the demarche (reftel) regarding the Financial Action Task Force warning on Iran's financial system to Tajik officials, who promised to pass the warning through "quiet channels" to Tajik financial institutions. ¶2. (SBU) EconOff delivered demarche to Zamira Hurshedovna, Head of the National Bank's Banking Supervision Department November 11, and to Deputy Minister of Finance Jamoliddin Nuraliev November 1. Nuraliev informed EconOff that the Ministry of Finance does not deal with banking compliance issues. Hurshedovna was fully supportive of the Financial Action Task Force statement, and promised that she would inform Tajik financial institutions about the dangers of dealing with Iranian financial institutions. ¶3. (SBU) Currently, Tajik banks do not have any relationships with Iranian banks, according to Hurshedovna. One Iranian bank, Tejerat Bank, has an operational branch in Tajikistan. This branch is a non-Islamic branch of an Islamic bank, but Hurshedovna believes that the bank only serves Iranian business clients in Tajikistan. The branch does not accept large-scale deposits and deals only with traders and citizens of Iran. ¶4. (SBU) Tajikistan lacks a money laundering law, and the legislative draft has gone back to parliament, after an initial draft on terrorist financing removed the money laundering component entirely. This limits the Tajik government's ability to go after potential financial crimes. The Agency of State Financial Control and Anti-Corruption has the lead in prosecuting financial crimes. The World Bank is currently providing assistance to this agency to improve its technical capacity. JACOBSON