Thursday, June 26, 2014

Afghan president signs key money law needed to avoid blacklist --- (Reuters) - The Afghan president has signed a key package of legislation aimed at combating financial crime, a statement said on Wednesday, making it less likely the country will be added to an international blacklist this week. -- The laws have been rushed through both houses of parliament in a last-ditch bid to meet the deadline set by the international watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), after the draft was wrangled over by ministers for over a year. -- "I put my signature to it ... this decree is to be published in the national gazette along with the parliament drafts," the statement by President Hamid Karzai said. -- The government is hoping the eleventh-hour breakthrough will convince the FATF it has done enough to prove it is serious about cracking down on money laundering and terrorist financing. -- If not, Afghanistan would join states including Iran and Pakistan on the watchdog's blacklist. Its banks could be cut off from the global financial system, disrupting up to $10 billion worth of annual imports and putting all sectors of its aid-dependent economy under strain. -- Many banks have already stopped dealing with Afghanistan because of weak regulation and last month most Afghan banks were dealt a fresh blow when their Chinese counterparts abruptly put a halt to dollar transactions. -- FATF is midway through its June 23-27 meeting and is expected to discuss Afghanistan on the last day. - More, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/25/us-afghanistan-banks-idUSKBN0F01U220140625

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