Facing grey-listing by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) during its crucial six-day Paris meeting starting on Monday, Pakistan has notified the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Regulations- 2018, which it claims is fully compliant with the global watchdog’s guidelines.
The development comes amid a strong push by the United States, backed by the United Kingdom, Germany and France, to put Pakistan in the FATF ‘grey list’ for its failure to comply with the anti-money laundering and terror funding guidelines despite repeated attempts.
Given that the electoral process for a new government in Pakistan will conclude on July 25, sources said, Pakistan could seek more time from the FATF for full compliance.
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Not ratified
Since the last FATF session, over the past few months, Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain had issued multiple ordinances in view of the FATF requirements. However, its Parliament was yet to approve a proposed amendment that recognised all the UNSC declarations in Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act, promulgated as an Ordinance in February and laid in the Senate in April 2018.
On June 20, the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan said it had notified the regulations that seek to make financial institutions more accountable in terms of money laundering and terror funding activities, it being “mandatory” for the country as a member of the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering.
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During its last session, the FATF Plenary had decided to put Pakistan on the grey list, subjecting it to direct monitoring and intense scrutiny by the International Co-operation Review Group on terror financing, pending further review during the June meeting.
Pakistan was placed on the same list from 2012 to 2015.
The case against Pakistan is its inaction against UN-banned terror groups like the Taliban and Haqqani Network, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jamaat-ud Dawa and its affiliate Falah-i-Insaaniyat Foundation, besides terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar.
Earlier, the FATF had also sought an exhaustive report from the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering, focussed on measures taken by Pakistan against terror funding and money laundering.