Govt To Discontinue Rs25,000 Prize Bonds To Meet FATF Requirements

The government of Pakistan has decided to discontinue Rs25,000 Prize Bonds to meet financial action task force (FATF) requirements.

Sources said that in the first phase, 25,000 prize bonds will be converted into prime bonds. In this regard, registration of prize bonds will start at the end of this month.

According to sources, after 25,000, there will be the registration of reward bonds of Rs 15,000 and Rs 7,500. The State Bank of Pakistan must also be informed while selling the prize bonds.

Identity card requirement has also been laid down for 25,000 prize bonds. The number of other prize bonds will no longer be cash.

Sources said that the prize bond drawn in the lottery will also have to be deposited in the State Bank.

The prize money also has to be done on the National Identity Card number and State Bank form.

Note that the State Bank of Pakistan had terminated 40,000 bonds in March this year. The move was aimed at cracking down on black money bond buyers and documenting the economy.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has decided to keep Pakistan on the grey list, for now, however, it appreciated the reforms it carried out.

On October this year, the FATF President Marcus Pleyer said while talking to the media via video link that,

“The plenary has decided to keep Pakistan in ‘grey list’ until February 2021 despite the country has successfully complied with 21 out of 27 points of action.”

Pakistan’s progress was reviewed by the global watchdog on the 27-point action plan for addressing terror financing and anti-money laundering.

“Pakistan has to do more. To date, Pakistan has made progress across all action plan items and has now largely addressed. As all action plan deadlines have expired, the FATF strongly urges Pakistan to swiftly complete its full action plan by February 2021,” said the President.

When asked about if Pakistan remains on the blacklist or not, Marcus Pleyer said,

“Let me clear, Pakistan is on the grey list, the country has made great progress and the government has cooperated too. We hope by our next deadline they would address the remaining six points of action.”

In the wake of FATF conclusion, Hammad Azhar, the Federal Minister of Industries and Production, took to Twitter and highlighted Pakistan’s achievement.