ISLAMABAD: The government on Monday raised to Rs3 million the currency transaction threshold for banks to trigger suspicious reports to the financial monitoring unit (FMU) of the State Bank under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA).
The National Executive Committee (NEC) on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terror (AML-CFT) approved an increase of Rs1m — 50 per cent — for Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) under the framework for analysing Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) and CTRs . The existing threshold is Rs2m.
The NEC is led by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and is responsible for setting limits for banks, financial institutions and other agencies dealing with financial transactions for the purpose of generating CTRs and STRs on the amount of currency transactions through notification in the official gazette.
The committee also approved the inclusion of Section 28 of the Pakistan Maritime Zones Act 2023 in Schedule I of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA). This means that “piracy” has been covered in the AMLA Schedule-I as a predicate offence.
PVARA gets regulatory powers over virtual and digital assets
Section 28 of the Maritime Zones Act 2023 defines piracy as any illegal act of violence or detention, depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft and directed, against another ship or aircraft or against persons or property onboard such ship or aircraft.
The law covers acts against a ship, aircraft, persons or property on high seas or in a place outside the jurisdiction of any state and any act of voluntary participation in the operation of a ship or of an aircraft with knowledge of facts making it a pirate ship or aircraft or for abetting or inciting or of intentionally facilitating above mentioned acts or actions.
Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority
The NEC approved the inclusion of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) in Schedule IV of AMLA. This means the authority will have regulatory powers over virtual and digital assets for the purpose of AML-CFT requirements similar to other regulators like the State Bank, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Federal Board of Revenue, National Savings Organisation and Pakistan Post.
Under the AMLA, the FMU is authorised to receive STRs and CTRs from reporting entities and analyse them. It can also seek the entire record and information from any agency or person in Pakistan related to the transaction in question.
All such agencies or persons are bound to provide the requested record and information to enable the FMU to disseminate its analysis on a confidential basis to the investigating or prosecuting agencies or share with financial intelligence units of other countries.
According to an official statement, the meeting reviewed compliance with its past decisions and progress on the country’s AML-CFT regime. This includes the performance of the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU), institutional capacity and initiatives involving artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The finance minister emphasised the importance of regular and timely follow-up and stronger coordination between institutions to ensure effective implementation of the national AML-CFT framework.
The NEC highlighted the importance of making the AML-CFT framework responsive to evolving financial risks and emerging technologies, while strengthening the analytical capabilities of institutions concerned.
The minister called for strengthening the FMU’s analytical and operational capacity through a clear implementation roadmap with defined timelines.
The NEC serves as a strategic forum for strengthening the country’s AML-CFT framework and ensuring timely coordination, inter-agency cooperation and consistent monitoring for effective implementation of the measures discussed.
Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2026
