The Foreign Minister of Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif, today said that Iran’s money laundering problem was in the billions of dollars, and he implied that federal government agencies in Iran benefited from money laundering in Iran and were lobbying to ensure that the FATF’s recommendations were not adopted into Iranian law.
Although Zarif did not cite any examples of money laundering, he did say that the prosecution of the Sultan of Coins, and his execution, was an example of money laundering. The so-called Sultan of Coins was a currency exchanger named Vahid Mazloumin, who was executed in Tehran for financial crimes for currency conversations and for having two tons of Iranian gold coins in his possession, whose provenance was elusive. The sentence was criticized because holding gold in Iran is not a crime.