Pakistani efforts against terror funding on agenda as FATF begins virtual meet

This picture shows the Financial Action Task Force Plenary meeting held in Paris, France on February 19, 2020. (Photo courtesy: FATF)

• Global watchdog will also discuss key issues to strengthen action against financial flows that “fuel crime and terrorism” 
• Pakistan was placed on FATF’s gray list of countries with inadequate control over curbing money laundering and terrorism financing in 2018 

ISLAMABAD: An international monitoring agency will assess Pakistan’s efforts to tackle terror financing, among other “key issues,” during a five-day virtual meeting that began in Paris, France, on Monday.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global money-laundering and terror financing watchdog, will also discuss measures to strengthen international action against the “financial flows that fuel crime and terrorism.”
“The FATF will finalize key reports on money laundering and environmental crime, ethnically and racially motivated terrorist financing...,” it said in a statement on Monday.
“It will finalize its second 12-month review of the implementation of revised FATF standards for virtual assets and virtual asset service providers, and guidance on proliferation financing risk assessment and mitigation,” it added.
The results of the FATF plenary will be published on Friday.
Pakistan was placed on FATF’s gray list of countries with inadequate control over curbing money laundering and terrorism financing in 2018.
In February last year, the FATF said Pakistan had until June 2020 to improve its anti-terrorism financing measures – the second four-month extension given to Pakistan to implement the agreed action plan.
Earlier this month, on June 4, Pakistan’s Finance Ministry quoted the Asia Pacific Group’s (APG) results on money laundering, which said that: “Pakistan has achieved compliant/largely compliant rating in 31 out of 40 FATF Recommendations in Technical Compliance.”
“These results prove the sincerity, along with the resolve of the government in complying with FATF requirements...and are a manifestation of a whole of government approach adopted to achieve the same,” the foreign ministry statement said.
It added that an “upgrade of 21 recommendations within this short time remains unprecedented in FATF history.”
Pakistan has also submitted re-rating requests to the APG on four more recommendations for its next follow-up report, which is under review.
“As a result of this substantial progress, the APG has decided to move Pakistan from enhanced (expedited) to enhanced follow-up; and Pakistan will continue to report back to the APG on progress to strengthen its implementation...of measures,” the statement said.