FATF to decide Pakistan's fate this week; will it exit grey list?
Oct 18, 2022
Paris [France], October 18 : The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is set to decide the fate of Pakistan this week at the Singapore plenary taking place on October 20-21, in which Islamabad will be hoping to exit the "grey list" of the financial watchdog after four years.
"The first Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Plenary under the two-year Singapore Presidency of T. Raja Kumar will take place on 20-21 October 2022," FATF said in a statement.
Pakistan has been on the Paris-based global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog's grey list for deficiencies in its counter-terror financing and anti-money laundering regimes since June 2018. This greylisting has adversely impacted its imports, exports, remittances, and limited access to international lending.
At the June plenary, global financial watchdog the FATF retained Pakistan on its 'grey list' had said a final decision to remove it from the list will be taken after an "on-site" verification visit, according to a statement.
Later in September, a FATF team visited Pakistan. According to the Express Tribune newspaper, the findings of the team would be discussed and reviewed in the next meeting of the FATF in its upcoming plenary session.
At the latest plenary, delegates representing 206 members of the Global Network and observer organisations, including the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, the World Bank, INTERPOL and the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units, will participate in the Working Group and Plenary meetings in Paris.
Delegates will discuss key issues including guidance on improving beneficial ownership transparency to prevent shell companies and other opaque structures from being used to launder illicit funds.
The Plenary will also discuss a report on the laundering of illicit proceeds generated from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids and proposals to enhance asset recovery.
"Discussions will also focus on jurisdictions identified as presenting a risk to the international financial system, with an update to public statements that identify jurisdictions as high risk or being subject to increased monitoring," the FATF said.
The Paris-based watchdog said a summary of the Plenary's decisions will be published on the FATF website following the conclusion of the meeting.
"On Friday 21 October, the FATF President will hold a press conference to announce the outcomes of the Plenary after it has ended. The press conference is scheduled for 17:00 CEST," it said.
