Money launderers deserve no leniency, asserts PM Khan

ISLAMABAD: Terming money laundering a grave threat to the country, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday directed the relevant government departments to ramp up measures to curb it, ARY News reported.

Presiding over a meeting held to review the measures taken by the government to fight the menace of money laundering, the prime minister said it had pushed the nation into the quagmire of debt.

During the meeting, the interior secretary gave the prime minister a detailed briefing on anti-money laundering efforts. Director General Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General Asim Munir made special participation in the meeting.

Speaking on the occasion, the premier said, “The people involved in money laundering are the nation’s enemies. Such elements deserve no leniency.”

The national kitty suffered losses after individuals looted the nation’s wealth to fill their own pockets, he said.

Read Also: Pakistan to apprise FATF of measures against money laundering

It is important to note here that Pakistan’s efforts to combat money laundering and terror financing had satisfied the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to an extent.

In January, Pakistan’s delegation headed by Finance Secretary Arif Ahmed Khan attended a three-day conference of the FATF in Sydney. The delegation included officials of the Financial Monitoring Unit, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

The anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing body had expressed its satisfaction over the steps taken by Pakistan, the sources further said.