The government has initiated preparations for the forthcoming on-site visit of the high-level team of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) expected before October, sources told ProPakistani on Wednesday.
The purpose of the on-site visit is to check whether all the items on the action plan have been met in a sustainable manner and implemented fully by the authorities. If the on-site visit has a positive outcome, the FATF will decide regarding the removal of Pakistan from the grey. Pakistan was officially placed on the grey list for the third time on June 28, 2018.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has made the appointment of a senior officer of Pakistan Customs to assist in the process of the on-site visit.
“The services of Syed Asad Raza Rizvi, a PCS/BS-20 Officer are hereby attached with Chief, FATF, FBR (HQ), Islamabad, for the forthcoming FATF onsite visit in relation to action items of IO-8 of FATF Action Plan with immediate effect and till further orders,” a notification issued by FBR reads.
It is pertinent to mention here that the FBR has directly dealt with at least 8 actions out of 34 action plans of the FATF and spearheaded the process of implementation. It has played an important role in completing the Designated Non-Financial Business and Professionals (DNFBPs), cash smuggling, investigating tax crimes for money laundering, and confiscating the proceeds of tax crimes.
In this regard, the tax collecting agency has issued Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations and conducted extensive outreach to educate DNFBPs. It has also established a dedicated IT-based DNFBP Management System, launched a customized mobile App for registrations and screening purposes, conducted a large number of onsite inspections, and imposed a wide range of penalties for noncompliance.
Similarly, in the area of cash smuggling, Customs has fortified cross-border controls and implemented a comprehensive mechanism to combat cash smuggling. FBR has also undertaken a large number of money laundering investigations against tax crimes and has also made significant confiscations in this regard.
The FATF expressed its satisfaction with the performance of Pakistan regarding the implementation of its action plans to curb money laundering and terrorism financing in the last plenary meeting held in Germany last month.
At its June 2022 Plenary, the FATF said that Pakistan has substantially completed the remaining two action plans, covering 34 items, and warrants an on-site visit to verify the implementation.
