Pakistan hopes to get off FATF’s grey list this month

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Finance expressed hope on Wednesday that Pakistan would be removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list this month, as it has done its best to implement the global watchdog’s 27-point action plan to curb money-laundering and terrorism financing.
The FATF’s five-day plenary session begins in Paris on Feb. 16 wherein it would decide whether to remove Pakistan from its grey list, or downgrade it further to the black list.
“We are hopeful and optimistic that we will be removed from the FATF’s grey list,” Mansoor Hassan Siddiqui, director general for the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) of the Ministry of Finance, told Arab News.
The FMU is Pakistan’s Financial Intelligence Unit, authorized to track all suspicious monetary transactions through banking channels and to alert relevant authorities to curb money-laundering and terrorism financing through official financial channels.
“All relevant authorities (in Pakistan) have put their best collectively to implement the FATF’s action plan,” Siddiqui said. “Pakistan is in much better position comparatively in terms of its results and in terms of its performance.”
Islamabad was placed on the FATF’s grey list in June 2018, after the 37-member global watchdog found deficiencies in the country’s legal framework to counter terrorism financing. Since then, the country has been struggling to plug loopholes in its financial system to satisfy the organization’s criteria.
Pakistan was cleared of 14 of the 27 points at the Asia Pacific Group meeting held in Beijing, on Jan. 21-23. The United States, that had spearheaded the move to place Pakistan on the FATF’s grey list, has reportedly supported it in Beijing for the counter money-laundering and terrorism financing measures Islamabad has been implementing.
“We have done our best … now let’s see how the FATF members and plenary assess our performance,” Siddiqui said.
Economic experts who have closely worked with the government to meet the FATF’s requirements are also hopeful for Pakistan’s exit from the so-called grey list.
“If we see on technical grounds, Pakistan has performed well to ensure the FATF compliance with help of numerous foreign technical experts,” said Dr. Vaqar Ahmed, senior economist and director at the Islamabad-based think tank Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).
Ahmed told Arab News the FMU had also established an “effective coordination system” between the center and provinces to strengthen registration and monitoring of non-profit organizations, besides increasing surveillance of bank accounts.
He said that Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts will also prove vital to exiting the grey list. “The diplomatic push with the friendly countries is important to win their support in the FATF plenary,” he added
According to the FATF charter, Pakistan would need 12 votes to get off the grey list and three votes to avoid blacklisting.