FATF assessment team likely to visit Pakistan in September

The Financial Action Task Force assessment team is likely to visit Pakistan in September for completing the procedural requirements for its exit from the international watchdog’s ‘grey list’ of countries under enhanced monitoring, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Wednesday.

Sources have revealed that the dates for the FATF assessment team are being finalized through diplomatic sources. The assessment team will appraise the watchdog of the anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing efforts of Pakistan after reviewing them.

Sources say that the FATF team will take an on-site review of the two action plans covering 34 items completed by Pakistan.

The FATF assessment team will complete its thorough report on Pakistan and present it in the October session of the watchdog.

On June 17, 2022, the FATF in its statement said: “Pakistan has substantially completed its two action plans, covering 34 items, and warrants an on-site visit to verify that the implementation of Pakistan’s AML/CFT reforms has begun and is being sustained.”

The announcement comes after the FATF’s four-day plenary session concluded in Berlin, where Pakistan’s situation came under discussion. Islamabad was placed on the FATF list of countries under increased monitoring in June 2018.

The watchdog’s statement acknowledged that the necessary political commitment remains in place to sustain implementation and improvement in the future.

FATF said that since June 2018, Pakistan made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and the Asia Pacific Group (APG) to strengthen its anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime and to address its strategic counter-terrorist financing-related deficiencies.

Reporter: Mohsinul Mulk