Four years after it was put on the "grey list" of a global watchdog for financing terrorism and money laundering, Pakistan's name has finally been struck off it.
Pakistan has been on the grey list of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) since June 2018 for failing to check money laundering, leading to terror financing, and was given a plan of action to complete it by October 2019.
What is FATF?
The FATF is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terror financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system. It currently has 39 members, including two regional organisations -- the European Commission and the Gulf Cooperation Council. India is a member of the FATF Consultants and its Asia Pacific Group.
Which countries are on the FATF grey list?
As of June 2022, there were 23 countries on the FATF's monitoring list: Albania, Barbados, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Haiti, Jamaica, Jordan, Mali, Morocco, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Uganda, United, Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Out of this, Pakistan has been moved from the list. The FATF said in June that Malta's jurisdiction is no longer subject to increased monitoring.
What did FATF say on removing Pakistan from the list
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said, "Pakistan is "no longer subject to FATF's increased monitoring process; to continue to work with APG (Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering) to further improve its AML/CFT (anti-money laundering & counter-terrorist financing) system."
At the June plenary, global financial watchdog FATF retained Pakistan on its 'grey list' and said a final decision to remove it from the list will be taken after an "on-site" verification visit, according to a statement.
Later in September, a FATF team visited Pakistan. According to the Express Tribune newspaper, the findings of the team would be discussed and reviewed in the next meeting of the FATF in its upcoming plenary session.
Delegates representing 206 members of the Global Network and observer organisations, including the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, the World Bank, INTERPOL and the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units, will participate in the Working Group and Plenary meetings in Paris.
Delegates will discuss key issues including guidance on improving beneficial ownership transparency to prevent shell companies and other opaque structures from being used to launder illicit funds.
The Plenary will also discuss a report on the laundering of illicit proceeds generated from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids and proposals to enhance asset recovery.
