Pakistan Could Exit Financial Crimes Watchdog FATF’s Grey List: Report

The financial crimes watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) could remove Pakistan from its ‘Grey List’, news agency India Today said in a report.

People familiar with the developments speaking to India Today said that the announcement could be made as early as next week when the plenary is in session.

The announcement will also be shared on the FATF’s website. The FATF is also visiting Pakistan to assess the compliance by the country which was earlier categorized under ‘Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring and High-Risk Jurisdictions’ for four years in a row.

The official announcement will be made in October, people familiar with the developments told India Today.

The people mentioned above also said that Pakistan completed 26 of the 27 action items in its 2018 action plan as advised by the FATF. It released a 2021 action plan of the FATF’s Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) where Pakistan was given seven targets, six of which have been fulfilled.

FATF delegates representing 206 members of the Global Network and observer organizations, including the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, the World Bank and the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units will sit for the final plenary session under the leadership of Dr Marcus Pleyer from June 14 to June 17 where decision will be taken.

The delegates will also discuss assessments of measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in Germany and the Netherlands during the three-day meeting.

After Dr Marcus Pleyer of Germany who led the two-year German Presidency at the FATF, Singapore’s T Raja Kumar will take over the role on July 1 as the new president of the FATF. T Raja Kumar’s appointment marks the first time Singapore is taking on the organization’s presidency.

T Raja Kumar served as a senior advisor at Singapore home ministry and also as the head of the Singapore’s delegation to the FATF since 2015. He also advised the FATF president when he was a member of the steering group starting 2018.

Pakistan remained for four years in the ‘Grey List’ for its inactions with respect to its inability to stop terror finacing and curb money laundering. Though ‘Grey List’ is a far safer list to be in, for countries accused of sponsoring terror, it created a negative impact on the economy and global image of Islamabad.

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