Pakistan exits FATF’s grey list: FO

Islamabad: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Friday decided by consensus that Pakistan has completed all substantial, technical and procedural requirements of both 2018 and 2021 action plans.

In a statement, the Foreign Office Spokesperson said as a result, Pakistan had been taken out of the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, with immediate effect.

This decision was taken during the FATF Plenary meeting held in Paris, France from 20-21 October 2022. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs/Chairperson National FATF Coordination Committee, Hina Rabbani Khar, led the Pakistan delegation to the FATF Plenary.

Pakistan has made enormous progress in the Anti Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) domain over the course of fulfilling the requirements of both action plans. Despite many challenges, including Covid-19 pandemic, Pakistan continued the reform trajectory and sustained the high-level political commitment of aligning its domestic AML/CFT regime with international best practices.

Achieving FATF targets was a whole-of-nation endeavour. Multiple ministries, departments and agencies, both at the federal and provincial levels, contributed to achieving this national objective. The engagement with FATF has led to strategic improvements in Pakistan’s laws and procedures, making its domestic AML/CFT regime more resilient to cope with current and future challenges.

The Spokesperson said Pakistan thanked the FATF members and the international community for providing valuable support during the Action Plan period.

“Pakistan reiterates that it will continue building on this mutually beneficial cooperation to sustain the gains. Pakistan also looks forward to sharing its expertise, knowledge and experience with other countries to enhance the effectiveness of FATF standards at the global level,” he added.