No justification to keep Pakistan on FATF grey list: FM Qureshi
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi says that the Financial Action Task Force; (FATF) has no justification to keep Pakistan on its grey list.
Also, he says that there is no justification to keep Pakistan on the grey list. Out of the 27 points given by FATF action plan; 26 have been complete & work is continue on the remaining. He points out that India wants to use the forum for political purposes but should not be permitted to do so.
Pakistan has taken solid steps to curb money laundering and terrorist financing, FM Qureshi added.
FM Qureshi statement comes as a five-day virtual meeting of the FATF is currently under way in Paris.
“Under the German Presidency of Dr Marcus Pleyer, delegates representing 205 members of the Global Network and observer organisations.
However, this includes the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations and the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units will take part in the virtual meeting of the FATF Plenary,” a statement on the FATF’s website said.
The outcomes of the FATF Plenary will be publishing on June 25 (Friday), at the close of the meeting.
However, the second follow-up report on Mutual Evaluation of Pakistan released by the APG — a regional affiliate of the Paris-based FATF — had also downgraded the country on one criterion.
The report had said Pakistan was re-rate to ‘compliant’ status on five counts and on 15 others; to ‘largely compliant’ and on yet another count to ‘partially compliant’.
Overall, Pakistan was fully ‘compliant’ with seven recommendations and ‘largely compliant’ with 24 others. The country was ‘partially compliant’ with seven recommendations and ‘non-compliant’ with two out of total 40 recommendations. All in all, Pakistan was compliant or largely compliant with 31 out of 40 FATF recommendations.
