FATF grants unexpected relief to Pakistan amid pandemic

Published April 8, 2020
Five-month grace period given to submit report on 13 benchmarks for foolproof arrangements against terror financing. — AFP/File
Five-month grace period given to submit report on 13 benchmarks for foolproof arrangements against terror financing. — AFP/File

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday rece­ived an unexpected relief when it was given a five-month grace period by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to submit its performance report on 13 outstanding benchmarks for foolproof arrangements against money laundering and terror financing.

“We have just received an intimation from FATF through the State Bank of Pakistan that our review scheduled for June 21-26 in Beijing has been postponed,” a senior government official told Dawn. The country’s performance would now be reviewed in October.

He said Pakistan was earlier required to submit a performance report by April 20. “We will now send our report to FATF in August that would be reviewed in October,” the official said, adding the postponement was apparently caused by uncertainties over the coronavirus pandemic but the health crisis had provided Pakistan with additional time to remove deficiencies.

In February, the Paris-based global watchdog against financial crimes gave Pakistan a four-month grace period to complete its 27-point action plan against money laundering and terror financing committed when it noted that Pakistan had delivered on 14 points and missed 13 other targets.

Officials said that Pakistan had put in place a broad-based strategy for taking necessary actions to complete outstanding commitments with the FATF in February and was actively making progress.

The FATF announced on Feb 21 that all deadlines given to Pakistan to complete the 27-point action plan had expired and only 14 items had largely been completed, leaving 13 unaccomplished targets.

It had strongly urged Pakistan to swiftly complete its full action plan by June 2020 or else it would be moved to the list of monitored jurisdiction, commonly known as the watchdog’s blacklist.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2020

Follow Dawn Business on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Opinion

Editorial

Trump’s folly
Updated 13 Feb, 2025

Trump’s folly

This latest pronouncement only reinforces the fears of those who see the plan as a blueprint for ethnic cleansing.
Corruption ranking
13 Feb, 2025

Corruption ranking

IT comes as little surprise. Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2024, unveiled on...
Support from remittances
13 Feb, 2025

Support from remittances

EVEN though workers’ remittances dipped, albeit negligibly, in January on a month-over-month basis, the earnings...
Ill omens
Updated 12 Feb, 2025

Ill omens

One wonders whether institutional leadership realises the long-term ramifications of the ongoing "remaking" of judiciary.
Sunken dreams
12 Feb, 2025

Sunken dreams

ANOTHER tragedy has struck Pakistani migrants seeking a better future. A boat capsizing off the Libyan coast has ...
Hate in India
12 Feb, 2025

Hate in India

HISTORY shows that rulers use hate speech to provoke hate crimes and ‘othering’ among communities. Indian Prime...