Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has stated that implementing a domestic version of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) framework would prevent many instances of corruption through data monitoring rather than physical oversight, IMNA News Agency reported on April 6.

Corruption continues to be rife in Iran and is now compounded as the national currency, the rial (IRR), continues to tank against foreign currencies in the country’s secondary market used for trade outside official channels. Successive governments have attempted to rein corruption through digitisation and audits but have failed to grapple with the issue in the country’s giant bureaucracy. Politically, the FATF banking regulations have been caught up in the country's parliament for several years, starting with the original nuclear deal in 2015. 

"If we implement a domestic FATF framework, many instances of corruption will be corrected and eliminated without the need for physical presence and field monitoring, simply by monitoring data," Pezeshkian said during an unannounced visit to the Ministry of Justice.

The president met with the justice minister and officials to review performance reports and future plans, particularly regarding legal reforms in adoption procedures.

"Today, with the help of modern tools and methods based on modern technologies, it is possible to largely eliminate the grounds for corruption by merely by using the existing postal codes, national ID number, and unique codes for goods and implementing certain laws like Article 169 of the Repeated Tax Law," he added.

Pezeshkian emphasised that data-driven systems would ensure justice, fairness, and rights in society. "If the cadastre system had been fully implemented in the country, would we be witnessing land grabbing, mountain grabbing, and forest grabbing today?" he questioned.

He called on supervisory bodies under the Ministry of Justice and other regulatory agencies to address violations early rather than waiting for them to become more serious.

"See the violation and the violator with an Islamic view and from the very beginning, remind them to correct their mistake," Pezeshkian advised.

The president said "we must do our utmost to eliminate problems, especially poverty and its effects and consequences, from the face and depths of society."