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KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr Reza Baqir on Saturday emphasized the need for close cooperation amongst banks, the central bank, and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to fight money laundering, cyber-attacks and online frauds.
According to a statement issued by the central bank, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of Reza Baqir and Director General FIA Sanaullah Abbasi to strengthen coordination against money laundering, digital fraud and cyber attacks. The meeting was also attended by the Presidents of Banks and senior officers of FIA and SBP.
The participants of the meeting were informed that the SBP has taken several measures in the recent past to strengthen its work on Anti-money Laundering (AML) as well as taken regulatory and supervisory measures to improve bank controls to prevent digital and social engineering frauds.
During the meeting, Governor SBP emphasized the need for close cooperation amongst banks, SBP, and FIA so that white collar crimes are expeditiously investigated and fraudsters are apprehended and prosecuted.
It was decided that in addition to having better control at the level of financial institutions and enhanced customer awareness, effective investigation and prosecution of criminals is needed to substantially reduce the incidence of money laundering, digital fraud and cyber attacks.
“The FIA team offered support in strengthening cyber security at banks and suggested banks carry out Information Security (IS) audit of their systems,” the statement read.
Welcoming the suggestion SBP informed that as per existing regulations banks are required to regularly carry out their information system audit and penetration testing, however it would be reemphasized to the industry through PBA.