FATF team arrives in Pakistan, final negotiations begin

ISLAMABAD: With the arrival of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) team in Islamabad on Sunday night, the final negotiations between the government and the delegation began on Monday in the federal capital.

FATF Asia-Pacific team will be in the country until October 19 to review the administrative and legal measures taken by Pakistan to curb the financial assistance of terrorists.

During its visit from October 7-19, the foreign delegation will meet officials of the ministries of finance and interior, the financial monitoring unit, and the State Bank .

In this regard, a working paper has also been drafted by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) pertaining to money laundering and terror financing which incorporates recommendations for measures in identifying domestic and foreign transactions.

According to sources, the officials in the task force are also likely to hold meetings with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and law enforcement agencies.

As Pakistan is currently under the grey-list, the FATF delegation will also put forward  recommendations whether to take Pakistan off the grey-list or to add it to the black list.

In June, Pakistan vowed to implement the action plan negotiated with the Financial Action Task Force to address concerns of the international community.

On June 28,  Pakistan’s name was placed on the ‘grey list’ during FATF Plenary session in Paris.

The FATF is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorism financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.

Last month, Finance Minister Asad Umar informed the Senate that the Financial Action Task Force had given Pakistan 15 months to comply with its requirements within its set deadline expiring in September 2019.