FATF delegation arrives

ISLAMABAD: In order to evaluate the performance of Pakistan for placing mechanism to counter money laundering and terror financing, a six-member visiting delegation of the Asia Pacific Group (APG) has asked Pakistan to strengthen the legal framework by maximising penalty and imprisonment period for those proven to be involved in such offences.

At a time when political transition is taking place in Pakistan, the APG delegation is visiting Pakistan to review the progress on the action plan to comply with the 40 recommendations placed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). “On the first day of deliberations here on Monday, the APG and Pakistani side reviewed recommendations of the FATF in detail related to money laundering and the Pakistani law enforcement agencies briefed the visiting delegation about the proposed steps under which the penalty will be doubled and the imprisonment period will be increased through legislative amendments with the approval of newly parliament,” official sources confirmed to The News here on Monday.

Official sources said the visiting APG delegation might hold Official sources said that the visiting APG delegation might hold meeting with caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar on Wednesday (tomorrow) for discussing Pakistan’s preparedness to combat money laundering and terror financing in effective manner.

The sources said that the APG delegations would stay in Pakistan till August 17 as the ongoing review would be accomplished on August 16, and then they would return back next day.

Another delegation was scheduled to visit Pakistan by October this year to review progress on the basis of 11 month basis and final progress would be scrutinised by January 2019 after completion of 15 month report for which Islamabad sought to get out from grey list and possibility of further down gradation into black list.

Pakistani side on Monday made all out efforts to convince the visiting APG delegation that the money laundering and terrorist financing risk had been understood and they were ready to coordinate at domestic and external fronts for taking appropriate actions to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation.

The financial intelligence and all other relevant information are appropriately used by competent authorities for money laundering and terrorist financing investigations. The money laundering offence and activities are investigation and offenders are prosecuted and subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions.

The proceeds and instrumentalities of crime are confiscated. Terrorist organisations and terrorist financier are prevented from raising, moving and using funds, and form abusing the NPO (Non Profit Organisations) such as NGOs sector. Persons and entities involved the proliferations of mass destructions are prevented from raising, moving and using funds in consistent with the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs).