KARACHI: Pakistan’s chances of being removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list remained on track, with experts telling Arab News on Thursday that a lot would be based on a “fair review of its progress.”
Their comments were in the wake of an announcement a day earlier whereby Pakistan had said that it would amend its Anti-Money Laundering Act as a measure.
If implemented, the proposed changes to the legal framework would make money laundering a non-bailable offense with a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, a fine of up to Rs5 million, and forfeiture of property involved in the offense or any property of corresponding value.
“FATF’s decision to allow more time to Pakistan to meet all the requirements to come out of the grey list gave the government a breathing space. Now, officials are making the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010, more effective to cover Benami accounts [or accounts opened in other people’s names] and assets. For this purpose, after a delay of nearly two years, the Benami Transactions Prohibition Act of 2017 has also been notified,” Dr. Ikram ul Haq, an expert on financial and legal matters, told Arab News.
The FATF, in a statement issued in February, had termed Pakistan’s progress on the implementation of its action plan as “limited” and asked Islamabad to address all strategic deficiencies.
“Pakistan has revised its TF [terror financing] risk assessment. However, it does not demonstrate a proper understanding of the TF risks posed by Da’esh (ISIS), Al-Qaeda, JuD [Jamaat-ud-Dawa], FIF [Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation], LeT [Lashkar-e-Taiba], JeM [Jaish-e-Mohammad], HQN [Haqqani Network] and persons affiliated with the Taliban,” the statement added.
However, people involved in the action plan and its implementation believe that the country would be removed from the grey list provided that an impartial review was conducted.
“Pakistan has made huge progress in implementing the AML [anti-money laundering] laws. In fact, our laws are far better than India’s. They [FATF] should also share progress of other countries with us. I am sure if a fair review is conducted, Pakistan would be out of the grey list,” Ashfaq Yousuf Tola, a senior chartered accountant who is privy to developments related to the subject, told Arab News.
Pakistan believes that in the presence of India, FATF would not be able to do a fair review. Recently, Finance Minister Asad Umar had asked the global watchdog’s president to appoint any other FATF member as the co-chair of the Asia-Pacific Joint Group in place of India “to ensure that FATF review process is fair, unbiased and objective.”
“Our AML and Benami laws are almost the same as those of India and our implementation is far better than India,” Tola, who has always maintained that Pakistan’s inclusion in the grey list was unfair, said.
According to Dr. Haq, Pakistan faces the challenge of enforcement since “enormous funds are invested in real estate where ‘benamidars’ [or name-lenders] are used to disguise the real ownership and sources of funds.”
“The PTI government,” he added, “has decided to remove all such legal lacunae. Once it is done and a proper crackdown is launched against the offenders, there are chances that the country would get its name removed from the grey list.”
Pakistan seeks to curb money laundering ahead of crucial review
Pakistan seeks to curb money laundering ahead of crucial review
- Devises measures to make it a non-bailable offense with a maximum sentence of 10 years
- Country could be removed from global watchdog’s grey list if analysis fair, experts say
EU, Pakistan sign €60 million loan agreement for clean drinking water in Karachi
- Project will finance rehabilitation, construction of water treatment facilities in Karachi city, says European Investment Bank
- As per a report in 2023, 90 percent of water samples collected from various places in city was deemed unfit for drinking
ISLAMABAD: The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Pakistan’s government on Wednesday signed a €60 million loan agreement, the first between the two sides in a decade, to support the delivery of clean drinking water in Karachi, the EU said in a statement.
The Karachi Water Infrastructure Framework, approved in August this year by the EIB, will finance the rehabilitation and construction of water treatment facilities in Pakistan’s most populous city of Karachi to increase safe water supply and improve water security.
The agreement was signed between the two sides at the sidelines of the 15th Pak-EU Joint Commission in Brussels, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
“Today, the @EIB signed its first loan agreement with Pakistan in a decade: a €60 million loan supporting the delivery of clean drinking water for #Karachi,” the EU said on social media platform X.
Radio Pakistan said the agreement reflects Pakistan’s commitment to modernize essential urban services and promote climate-resilient infrastructure.
“The declaration demonstrates the continued momentum in Pakistan-EU cooperation and highlights shared priorities in sustainable development, public service delivery, and climate and environmental resilience,” it said.
Karachi has a chronic clean drinking water problem. As per a Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) study conducted in 2023, 90 percent of water from samples collected from various places in the city was deemed unsafe for drinking purposes, contaminated with E. coli, coliform bacteria, and other harmful pathogens.
The problem has forced most residents of the city to get their water through drilled motor-operated wells (known as ‘bores’), even as groundwater in the coastal city tends to be salty and unfit for human consumption.
Other options for residents include either buying unfiltered water from private water tanker operators, who fill up at a network of legal and illegal water hydrants across the city, or buying it from reverse osmosis plants that they visit to fill up bottles or have delivered to their homes.
The EU provides Pakistan about €100 million annually in grants for development and cooperation. This includes efforts to achieve green inclusive growth, increase education and employment skills, promote good governance, human rights, rule of law and ensure sustainable management of natural resources.
