Pakistan To Stay In FATF Grey ListPakistan To Stay In FATF Grey List

Pakistan To Stay In FATF Grey List

Pakistan To Stay In FATF Grey List: Pakistan is unlikely to have an easy exit from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, as the provisional assessment reveals that Islamabad is fully or partially non-compliant with 28 out of 40 recommendations, said highly placed government sources.

The staggering non-compliance figure, which makes up 70% of the total recommendations, suggests that the authorities have to double their efforts to exit the grey list in the next one year.

A report by the Asia Pacific Group (APG) –an FATF styled regional body – has provisionally assessed Pakistan aimed at highlighting the loopholes that have to be plugged in to avoid being blacklisted.

Pakistan To Stay In FATF Grey List
Pakistan To Stay In FATF Grey List

The FATF has developed 40 recommendations to curb money laundering and terrorism financing in the world and every jurisdiction is assessed based on these global standards.

Pakistan’s legal and regulatory regime has to be drastically amended in next few months, which seems an uphill task given the political polarisation in the country.

The sources said the APG declared Pakistan compliant only on two counts and was largely satisfied on six other recommendations.  The FATF put Pakistan on the grey list with effect from June this year after finding deficiencies in the country’s anti money laundering and counter terrorism financing regimes.

The FATF and the APG have already handed over 26-point Action Plan to Pakistan to come out of the grey list by September next year. The APG technical experts also visited Pakistan from October 8 to 19 as part on on-site Mutual Evaluation of Pakistan.

The sources said the APG is urging Pakistan to introduce new regulations for lawyers, requiring them to inform the Financial Monitoring Unit about suspicious transactions.

The foreign experts also showed concerns over lax business regimes of gems and precious stones, warning that these could be used for money laundering.

Non-compliance areas

The APG has provisionally rated Pakistan non-compliant with five recommendations that are related to non-profit organisations, designated non-profit business or professions (DNFBPs) customers due diligence, regulations and supervision of DNFBPs, mutual legal assistance, freezing and confiscation and others forms of institutional cooperation. The APG has declared real estate dealers, dealers in precious metals & stones, lawyers and notaries as medium to high risk areas.

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By humsub

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