ISLAMABAD: A Financial Action Task Force (FATF) assessment team is expected to visit Islamabad in September to complete the procedural requirements for Pakistan’s exit from the watchdog’s so-called grey list of nations.
The development comes a month after the international watchdog said it will keep Pakistan on the list of countries that do not take full measures to combat money laundering and terror financing but raised hopes that its removal would follow an upcoming visit to Islamabad to determine its progress.
It said that Pakistan had substantially completed its two action plans, covering 34 items.
But added that an on-site visit was warranted to verify that reforms had begun and were being sustained, as well as that the necessary political commitment remained in place to sustain improvement in the future.
Reports citing sources revealed the dates for the assessment team are being finalised through diplomatic channels. The team will appraise the watchdog of the anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing efforts undertaken by Pakistan after reviewing them.
The team will complete its report on Pakistan and present it to the watchdog in its October session.
The Paris-based group added Pakistan in June 2018 to the “gray list,” which is composed of countries with a high risk of money laundering and terrorism financing but which have formally committed to working with the task force to make changes.
At the time, the country avoided being put on the organisation’s “black list” of countries that do not take adequate measures to halt money laundering and terror financing but also have not committed to working with the FATF. The designation severely restricts a country’s international borrowing capabilities.
Still, being on the Paris-based international watchdog’s “gray list” can scare away investors and creditors, hurting exports, output and consumption. It also can make global banks wary of doing business with a country.
— With Reuters, AP
