MM News

PARIS: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has announced that Pakistan will continue to remain on its increased monitoring or grey list depsite making progress on the action plan given by the global anti-money laundering watchdog.

“Pakistan remains under increased monitoring. The Pakistani government has two concurrent action plans with a total of 34 action items,” said FATF President Dr Marcus Pleyer addressing a press conference after the plenary session in Paris. “It has now addressed or largely addressed 30 of the items,” he said.

The virtual meeting of the FATF Plenary took place under the presidency of Dr Marcus Pleyer, while delegates representing 205 members of the Global Network and observer organisations including the International Monetary Fund, United Nations and the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units also attended.

Pakistan has been on the FATF’s increased monitoring list, also known as the ‘grey list’, for deficiencies in its counter-terror financing and anti-money laundering regimes since June 2018.

In June, the FATF had retained Pakistan on the watchdog’s “increased monitoring list” till it addressed the single remaining item on the original action plan agreed to in June 2018 as well as all items on a parallel action plan given by the FATF’s regional affiliate Asia Pacific Group.

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“Pakistan has made significant progress and it has largely addressed 26 out of 27 items on the action plan it first committed to in June 2018,” FATF President Dr Marcus Pleyer said.

He pointed out that the remaining item on financial terrorism still needed to be addressed which concerned the “investigation and prosecution of senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terror groups”. The FATF had decided to maintain the status quo for Pakistan in the increased monitoring list.

Pleyer had made it clear that Pakistan’s delisting from grey list would not take place until both action plans were completed and the members then came to a conclusion that systems and efforts against financial risks were sustainable.

He had said the rules were very clear and equally applicable that jurisdictions under increased monitoring list had to complete all action points and fully address the risks. The FATF held a meeting in Paris which began on October 19 and concludes today, October 21.

The plenary meeting decided to maintain status quo with respect to Pakistan, for the time being. FATF will undertake next review of Pakistan’s Progress in February 2022. The FATF Plenary meetings were held virtually from 19-21 October 2021, where its members discussed a variety of topics including Pakistan’s progress.

The Pakistan delegation was led by Federal Minister for Energy and Chairman National FATF Coordination Committee Hammad Azhar. He said Pakistan is fully committed to completing its both Action Plans in cooperation with FATF and its international partners.