PARIS: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in its ongoing plenary meeting (June 24-29) has decided to put Pakistan on gray list for association with money laundering and terror financing, sources said.
According to details, Pakistan’s interim Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar presented a strong case in Paris where the Financial Action Task Force is meeting.
While pleading Pakistan’s case to remove its name from FATF grey list, the minister apprised the anti-terror financing body of measures that country has taken to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and to eliminate the terrorism from its soil.
The US motion, to have Pakistan added to the “grey list” of countries was reportedly backed by Britain, France and Germany.
Talking to media, Pakistan’s Interim Interior Minister Muhammad Azam said that the FATF is under immense pressure of US and India, adding that these countries also pressurized even China and Saudi Arabia, Pakistan’s closest allies, to withdraw their support.
As part of efforts to implement the FATF counter-terrorist financing operational plan adopted in February this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), on June 20, issued the ‘Anti Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Regulations 2018’.
However, the Foreign Office on Thursday said Pakistan can be removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s grey-list of countries involved in providing monetary assistance to terrorism and related causes if adequate measures are taken.
“We will have to ensure the implementation of the action plan shared with FATF while we are on the grey-list,” FO spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal said during his weekly press briefing in Islamabad.
“If adequate measures are taken, we can be removed from the grey-list,” he said adding that otherwise the country will “face problems”.
Dr Faisal continued, “Earlier we were also removed from the grey-list after we took adequate measures.”
“We are in talks with the FATF over the plan of action,” he further said.
The FO spokesperson upheld, “We were told in February that we will be placed on the grey-list.”
Last week, the interim finance minister said that the ministry has improved institutional mechanisms for handling anti-money laundering and countering financing terrorism issues. Coordination between the State Bank, Banking institutions and law enforcement agencies has also been strengthened to curb money laundering and terror financing, she added.
The FATF is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system. Pakistan was previously on the grey list from 2012 to 2015.
