Four years after it was placed on the “grey list” of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for financing of terrorism and money laundering.
Pakistan is finally set to see its name off the list after it was found to be compliant in the action plan set out by the global financial watchdog.
The decision to strike off the South Asian nation from the list is likely to be taken when the financial crime watchdog meets in Paris from October 18 to 21.
The global financial watchdog had set out an action plan of 34 points for Pakistan, of which 27-point action plan was related to terror financing and 7-point action plan was related with money laundering.
In its statement after the plenary in June, the FATF, in a statement said: “At its June 2022 Plenary, the FATF made the initial determination that Pakistan has substantially completed its two action plans, covering 34 items, and warrants an on-site visit to verify that the implementation of Pakistan’s AML/CFT reforms has begun and is being sustained, and that the necessary political commitment remains in place to sustain implementation and improvement in the future.”
A 15-member team of the FATF visited Pakistan from August 29 to September 2, and met officials concerned about the financial system of Pakistan, including the state bank, finance ministry, after which it prepared an onsite report on the country.
The findings of the team, which included officials from the US, the UK, Australia, EU and others, will be submitted and discussed during the plenary session nextt week in Paris.
The Pakistan delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar.
Pakistan has been on the grey list of the FATF since June 2018 for failing to check money laundering, leading to terror financing.
Having failed to get off the grey list, Islamabad has faced problem in receiving financial aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Union, thus further enhancing problems for the country.
Established in 1989, the FATF aims to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
The FATF currently has 39 members including two regional organisations — the European Commission and Gulf Cooperation Council. India is a member of the FATF consultations and its Asia Pacific Group.