Washington: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar assured the nation on Sunday that Pakistan will likely exit the infamous “grey list” of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) this week. In his press conference in Washington, FM Ishaq Dar said that Pakistan worked hard to exit FATF’s grey list, and now a meeting is expected in a few days, and the government is hopeful the country will come out of it.
In June this year, the FATF decided that Pakistan had completed all 34 items on two separate plans as demanded by the global watchdog for combating money laundering and terror financing. However, the removal of Pakistan’s name from the “increased monitoring list” — also known as the “grey list” — was conditioned on an on-site visit of a FATF team to verify the implementation and sustainability of the country’s money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures.
FATF warrants ‘on-site’ visit to verify Pak AML/CFT reforms
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According to a statement by the FATF, Pakistan substantially completed all items on both its action plans, which showed that necessary political commitment was in place to sustain implementation and improvement in the future.
The team then visited Pakistan in September and concluded its findings that were to be discussed and reviewed in the next meeting of FATF, scheduled in Paris in October.
According to a recent statement by the watchdog, the FATF Plenary meeting will take place on 20-21 October 2022.
“The first Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Plenary under the two-year Singapore Presidency of T. Raja Kumar will take place on 20-21 October 2022.”
It further said that delegates representing 206 members of the Global Network and observer organizations, 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.
During the meetings, the 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. Discussions will also focus on jurisdictions identified as presenting a risk to the international financial system, with an update to public statements that identify jurisdictions as high risk or being subject to increased monitoring.
“A summary of the Plenary’s decisions will be published on the FATF website following the conclusion of the meeting,” the statement read.
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October 17, 2022 Published by The Financial Action Task Force.
