Pakistan to be removed from Anti-Terror "FATF Grey List" after 4 years on list
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Pakistan is now likely to have its name removed from the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) "grey list" after being added to it four years ago for financing terrorism and money laundering after being deemed to be in compliance with the action plan outlined by the international financial watchdog.
When the financial crime watchdog meets in Paris from October 18 to 21, it is anticipated that the decision to remove the South Asian nation from the list will be made.
The international financial watchdog had outlined a 34-point action plan for Pakistan, of which 27 points dealt with the financing of terrorism and 7 points dealt with money laundering, NDTV reported.
FATF noted in a statement following the June plenary, "At its June 2022 Plenary, the FATF made the initial determination that 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 and that the necessary political commitment remains in place to sustain implementation and improvement in the future."
From August 29 to September 2, a 15-person FATF team visited Pakistan. While there, the team met with officials who were concerned about Pakistan's financial system, including the state bank and finance ministry, and afterwards, it prepared an on-site report on the nation.
The team's findings, which comprised representatives from the US, UK, Australia, EU, and other countries, will be presented and discussed during the plenary session in Paris the next week.
Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan's foreign minister, will serve as the nation's delegation leader.
Since June 2018, Pakistan has been included on the FATF's "grey list" for failing to prevent money laundering which thus helped fuel terrorism.
The FATF was established in 1989 with the purpose of addressing risks to the integrity of the global financial system, including money laundering, financing of terrorism, and other related issues.
The European Commission and Gulf Cooperation Council are two regional organisations among the 39 members of the FATF at the moment. India is a member of the FATF Consultants and its Asia Pacific Group.