MNA � The member of the Expediency Council Ayatollah Mojtahed Shabestari says that the council members postponed the decision on UNODC bill today due to its relevance to another FATF-related bill-CFT, as well as the JCPOA-related commitments of the European countries.







The two FATF-related bills of Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNODC), have already been approved by the lawmakers in the Iranian Parliament and need to be approved by the Expediency Council after they were rejected by the Guardian Council, which is a body empowered to vet legislation. Meanwhile, the Expediency Council acts as a mediator in disputes between the Parliament and the Guardian Council.

Today, the Expediency Council postponed the decision on the UNODC for next Iranian year of 1398, which begins on March 21.

About today�s postponing the decision on the part of the Expediency Council on the UNODC, which is better known as the Palermo bill in Iran, Ayatollah Mojtahed Shabestari, who is a member of the Expediency Council, said that �given the fact that the CFT is related to the UNODC, we have to wait for the CFT bill as well, then we will discuss the two bills together within a joint commission.�

Mojtahed Shabestari added that �we have to also wait to see that the Europeans will implement their other commitments under the JCPOA or their commitments will only be limited to their recently unveiled financial mechanism.�

�We have to wait for the Europeans to fulfill their commitments, if they do not take any action in that regard, the Expediency Council will decide otherwise,� he added.

With regard to the possibility of holding a referendum on the two bills, the Expediency Council member said that �holding a referendum would be meaningless as the decision on the FATF-related bills is a judicial issue and their legal process is going on. These two bills were approved by the Parliament, but then were rejected by the Guardian Council, and now they are being reviewed by the Expediency Council.�