Iran limits cash withdrawals to fight money-laundering

As of January 21, account holders will no longer be allowed to withdraw more than $15,000 from banks but they can still write checks for larger amounts, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) said in a statement.

The Iranian Parliament (Majlis) passed the anti-money laundering law on Jan. 22, 2008 and sent it to the Guardian Council for final ratification. In April 2009, the council finalized the law to pave the way for the implementation of the regulation by the CBI.

Addressing a conference on fighting money-laundering on Wednesday, Economy and Finance Minister Shamsoddin Hosseini said that controlling cash withdrawals would serve as a measure to counter money laundering.

He added that from January 21 people should use bank checks and electronic banking systems instead of cash transactions.

/Press TV/