Asia-Pacific Group raises questions over efforts against terror financing
Pakistan faced harsh questioning on effectiveness of its efforts against money laundering and terror financing at the “face-to-face meeting” of the Asia-Pacific Group (APG) on money laundering, a regional affiliate of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
A 10-member delegation led by Finance Secretary Mohammad Younas Dagha represented Pakistan at the two-day APG meeting in Guangzhou, China. It briefed the group about the country’s updated actions against currency smuggling, proscribed organisations and tightening of financial and corporate sector systems and operational effectiveness.
Information coming from China suggests that some participants of the meeting, particularly those from India, raised very tough questions about Pakistan’s seriousness to act against proscribed organisations and effectiveness of internal controls.
The Pakistani side reported arrests of key operatives of some proscribed organisations, putting more such organisations and their affiliates at the list of banned outfits, blocking their accounts and financial flows and taking control of their assets. The delegation reported that Pakistan had either complied with or was very close to accomplishing the milestones under the FATF action plan well before the September deadline.
The APG will submit to the FATF its analysis of the compliance report submitted by Pakistan on the basis of its deliberations and cross-questioning at the Guangzhou meeting and the progress made since the group’s on-site inspection in Islamabad and Karachi in March. The APG report will become the basis for the FATF to exclude Pakistan from its grey list or otherwise. At those on-site inspections, the APG had flashed contradictory situations and poor coordination among stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies, in fighting money laundering and terror financing.
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Read More at : https://www.dawn.com/news/1482823/a...estions-over-efforts-against-terror-financing
Pakistan faced harsh questioning on effectiveness of its efforts against money laundering and terror financing at the “face-to-face meeting” of the Asia-Pacific Group (APG) on money laundering, a regional affiliate of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
A 10-member delegation led by Finance Secretary Mohammad Younas Dagha represented Pakistan at the two-day APG meeting in Guangzhou, China. It briefed the group about the country’s updated actions against currency smuggling, proscribed organisations and tightening of financial and corporate sector systems and operational effectiveness.
Information coming from China suggests that some participants of the meeting, particularly those from India, raised very tough questions about Pakistan’s seriousness to act against proscribed organisations and effectiveness of internal controls.
The Pakistani side reported arrests of key operatives of some proscribed organisations, putting more such organisations and their affiliates at the list of banned outfits, blocking their accounts and financial flows and taking control of their assets. The delegation reported that Pakistan had either complied with or was very close to accomplishing the milestones under the FATF action plan well before the September deadline.
The APG will submit to the FATF its analysis of the compliance report submitted by Pakistan on the basis of its deliberations and cross-questioning at the Guangzhou meeting and the progress made since the group’s on-site inspection in Islamabad and Karachi in March. The APG report will become the basis for the FATF to exclude Pakistan from its grey list or otherwise. At those on-site inspections, the APG had flashed contradictory situations and poor coordination among stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies, in fighting money laundering and terror financing.
.
.
.
Read More at : https://www.dawn.com/news/1482823/a...estions-over-efforts-against-terror-financing
