The global money laundering and terrorism watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), team has arrived in Pakistan to verify the steps taken by the country to exit the watchdog’s grey list, local media reported. The FATF team will visit the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) headquarters and the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Directorate, where the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) Directorate will give a briefing on the implementation of the action plan. During the visit, the FATF review team will also review the strategy for future actions. On the basis of the report compiled by the FATH’s review team, the financial announcement will be made whether to remove Pakistan from the grey list or not.
Following the visit of the FATF’s team, the entry of visitors into the FIA headquarters was prohibited.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistani authorities established different circles across Pakistan, including the AML Directorate for the implementation of the FATF Action Plan.
The circles had sent their reports to the concerned directorate, whereas the relevant data of the concerned ministries was also possessed by the directorate, reported ARY News.
The FATF on 17 June said that Pakistan will continue to stay on its “grey list” and a final decision to remove it from the list will be taken after an “on-site” verification visit by the Paris-based body.
This decision was announced after the conclusion of the FATF plenary in Berlin, where delegates from governments around the world and partner organizations, including the UN and IMF, discussed key money laundering and terrorist financing issues. ”At its June 2022 plenary, the FATF made the initial determination that Pakistan has substantially completed its two action plans.