Finance ministers and central bankers from the seven major industrial countries (G7) threatened Sunday penalties against "uncooperative" countries or territories, including Israel, that refuse to comply with an international set of rules aimed at rooting out money laundering, reported the Jerusalem Post.
Penalties "would include the possibility to condition or restrict financial transactions" and the withdrawal of aid given by international organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund, officials from the Group of Seven countries said in a statement after their meeting in Prague, according to the paper.
The countries or territories targeted are the 15 identified in a blacklist released on June 22nd by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on money laundering, a group made up mostly of members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Countries other than Israel on the blacklist include Russia, Panama, and the Cayman Islands, said the paper.
The inclusion of Israel on the blacklist sparked the passage of legislation combating money laundering before the Knesset's summer recess, said the Jerusalem Post.
However, implementation of specific articles of the law has not yet been carried out, it added.
"It will take more time until technical aspects are worked out," MK Tzipi Livni (Likud), former chairwoman of the Knesset subcommittee on money laundering, told The Jerusalem Post.
As part of the new law, there will be mandatory registration of large deposits in a database. In addition, financial institutions will be required to report suspicious transactions. "It's now up to the Justice Ministry and the banks to enforce the regulations," Livni said - Albawaba.com
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