Pakistan poised to complete remaining one FATF condition by October

KARACHI: Pakistan is poised to complete the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) new action plan on money laundering before the next plenary meeting of the body in October 2021.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad after the FATF decision, Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar said, “The importance of FATF has increased significantly in the current situation. [And] FATF wants better monitoring of money laundering.”

Pakistan has implemented the most difficult FATF action plan and its efforts are being acknowledged by the member countries of the Financial Action Task Force, he said.

“FATF acknowledged that Pakistan implemented 26 of the 27 points and the one point left will be completed, as well. There is no threat of blacklisting; Pakistan will not be blacklisted, it will be whitelisted,” the minister added.
Earlier, addressing a press conference in Paris after the plenary meeting, FATF President Dr Marcus Pleyer said that Pakistan remains under “increased monitoring”.

“The Pakistani government has made substantial progress in making its counter-terrorist financing systems stronger and more effective. It has largely addressed 26 of the 27 items on the action plan it first committed to in June 2018,” he said.
Dr Pleyer said that the plan focused on terrorist financing issues, adding that the one key action item still needs to be completed which concerns the investigation and prosecution of senior leaders and commanders of the UN-designated terror groups.

Pakistan is still failing in effectively implementing the global FATF standards across a number of areas. This means the risks of money laundering remain high, which, in turn, can fuel corruption and organised crime, he said.
This is why the FATF has worked with the Pakistan government on new areas that still need to be improved as part of a new action plan that largely focuses on money laundering risks.

“This is about helping authorities stop corruption and prevent organised criminals from profiting from their crimes and undermining the financial system and legitimate economy in Pakistan,” he added.

He went on to say he wishes to “thank the Pakistani government for their continued strong commitment to this progress”.

According to the anti-money laundering watchdog, “In response to additional deficiencies later identified in Pakistan’s 2019 APG Mutual Evaluation Report (MER), Pakistan has made progress to address a number of the recommended actions […] and provided further high-level commitment in June 2021 to address these strategic deficiencies pursuant to a new action plan that primarily focuses on combating money laundering.”