Bank account lease; A new tool in financing terrorism

According to the Mehr Reporter, in recent years, the phenomenon of bank account rental or personal accounts to others, especially in cyberspace, has become one of the most common ways to move suspicious money. This phenomenon, along with economic abuse, has become a dangerous tool for financing terrorist acts, money laundering and tax evasion. The foregoing report deals with the legal examination of this issue, focusing on financing terrorism.

Lease of bank accounts and instances

Renting a bank account means transferring information and accessing a personal account to another person or institution, for a specified amount or other promises. These accounts are commonly used to transfer illegal funds, move money from anonymous sources, or purchase illegal goods and services. In this process, the account holder may consciously or unconsciously participate in the criminal process.

Transplantation of Account Rental with Financing Terrorism

Terrorist networks use rented accounts to circumvent bank surveillance systems and track transactions. Using accounts of unrelated or unaware people hides the money transfer path and reduces the ability to identify the final source or destination. In fact, account rental has become a tool for anonymity of transactions and reduced discovery risk by regulatory agencies.

Legal and criminal foundations in the Iranian legal system

Based on Anti -Financing Law of Terrorism (Adopted 1) Any assistance, collection, transfer, or providing funds directly or indirectly, for the benefit of terrorist individuals or groups, is considered a crime. If a person with the knowledge of the nature of the operation gives his account to others, the partner will be considered a crime. Even in the event of ignorance, if it is proven to be a “facilitator”, if it is proven to be negligent and negligent.

Also according to Article 2 of the Anti -Money Laundering LawTransfer of crime -induced financial resources or with the aim of criminal Money Laundry Is. If the rented account is used in this process, civil and criminal liability for the account holder will also be possible.

Legal consequences for the leaseholder and the leaseholder

The leaseholder (the owner of the account) is known if the consciousness is proof of the financing partner of the terrorism; In the event of ignorance but negligence, it may be prosecuted for “lack of care” or “crime facilitation”. Rental (Original Comorge) If you use an account to transfer terrorist funds under the heading of terrorism financing, Money Laundry And anti -national security measures can be prosecuted.

Preventive and regulatory requirements

Banks and financial institutions are required to monitor the abnormal behavior of the accounts using artificial intelligence systems and report accounts with suspicious turnover. The full implementation of customer identification and authentication law, public education on the consequences of account rental and the explicit criminality of this behavior in the public media are essential steps to prevent this phenomenon.

Based on Article 2 of the Anti -Financing Law on TerrorismIf the owners of rental accounts report their violations before identifying themselves by the judicial registrars, they will be exempt from prosecution and related penalties.

To submit the report, compatriots can apply through the SMS system at 1 or the official email of the Financial Information Center at whistleblower@fiu.gov.ir. When submitting the report, it is necessary to mention information such as the following:

Name and last name of the account owner

National code

Account number

Also the individual details that the account is rented (including the name, surname and national code)

Overall, bank account rental seems simple and sometimes even unconscious, but in practice it can become an efficient tool for serving organized and terrorist crimes. Increasing public awareness, strengthening bank oversight, explicit criminality at the level Legal And international judicial and intelligence cooperation is one of the essentials of effective confrontation with this dangerous phenomenon.