Iranian Minister Slams Int’l Banks for Money Laundering
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli slammed the international banking system in some developed countries for receiving money from drug lords, calling for a “serious campaign” against money laundering.
Addressing Tehran International Conference on Cooperation against Illicit Drugs and Related Organized Crime on Monday, Rahmani Fazli expressed deep concern over the growing cases of money laundering in the region and the world.
Although countries that are conduits for the shipment of illicit drugs are victims of the unhealthy economy resulting from drug trafficking, they do not have much information as to how the money obtained from drug trafficking enters the world's leading banks based in developed countries.
He stressed that it is necessary to take measures to prevent the money laundering process.
Iran, which has a 900-kilometer common border with Afghanistan, has been used as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to narcotics kingpins in Europe.
Despite high economic and human costs, the Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug trafficking over the past three decades.
The country has spent more than $700 million on sealing its borders and preventing the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries.
The war on drug trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past 34 years.
