FO Spokesperson says Pak’s effectiveness in Anti-Money Laundering & Combating the Financing of Terrorism regime significantly mitigated

ISLAMABAD, Sep 14 (SABAH): Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad says Pakistan’s effectiveness in Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism regime has significantly mitigated risks and threats of money laundering and financing of terrorism.

Responding to media queries about news stories that recently appeared in domestic media about Pakistan’s current engagement with FATF and progress in AML/CFT domain, Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad stated that pursuant to the authorization of Onsite Visit by FATF Plenary in June 2022, an FATF technical team recently visited Pakistan and held detailed discussions with relevant agencies. From our perspective, it was a smooth and successful visit.

FO spokesperson said that the focus of the visit was to validate on ground Pakistan’s high-level commitment and sustainability of reforms in our AML/CFT regime. The meetings with FATF team were held in a constructive and positive atmosphere.

He said that the Report of FATF Onsite team will be discussed in FATF’s ICRG (International Cooperation Review Group) and Plenary meetings, scheduled to be held in the third week of October 2022 in Paris. He said that Pakistan is looking forward to logical conclusion to the ongoing evaluation process.

He said that as regards the status of Pakistan’s progress, FATF’s latest evaluation of Pakistan supersedes its findings in previous years. As a result of Pakistan’s strenuous and consistent efforts over last four years, Pakistan has not only achieved a high degree of technical compliance with FATF standards it has also ensured high level of effectiveness through implementation of two comprehensive FATF Action Plans, and it is committed to continuing its efforts in this regard.

He said that with regard to technical compliance with FATF standards, Pakistan has now been rated as Compliant/Largely Compliant in 38 out of 40 FATF Recommendations, which places us among the top compliant countries in the world.

Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said that the completion of both Action Plans by Pakistan in June 2022 is, in fact, an acknowledgement by FATF of attaining a high level of effectiveness on FATF standards. Over last four years, Pakistan’s effectiveness in AML/CFT regime has increased across all Immediate Outcomes, which has significantly mitigated risks and threats of money laundering and financing of terrorism.