FATF decides to keep Pakistan on grey list until June

KARACHI: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has decided to keep Pakistan on its grey watch list till June.

The announcement to keep Pakistan on the grey list came after the conclusion of the sixth meeting of the FATF chaired by Dr. Marcus Pleyer. At the end of the four-day meeting, the FATF also announced that it had added the UAE to its ‘grey’ watch list.

The FATF acknowledged ‘significant progress’ in completing the action items required by Pakistan. The FATF encouraged Pakistan to continue making progress in resolving other issues as soon as possible.

Earlier in October 2021, FATF President Dr. Marcus Pleyer had said that Pakistan would remain on the grey list. Pakistan had major money laundering issues in its action plan, as pointed out by the FATF’s regional partner APG in June.

He said that Pakistan as a whole was doing well on this new action plan. Four of the seven points of the Action Plan have been implemented, including legal amendments to the authorities’ financial oversight and international cooperation.

He said that the capital of offshore companies was being scrutinized and the money laundering capital of offshore companies would be reviewed. “Making joint efforts to curb money laundering, Pandora papers also assisted in curbing money laundering,” he said.