Pakistan hoping to get another extension from FATF

Islamabad: Under pressure to crack down on terrorist financing and money laundering, Pakistan has submitted the final compliance report to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and is hoping for an extension of the relaxation period till June 2020.

Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar told media on Tuesday that Islamabad submitted its compliance report before the joint group of the FATF. “There will be a response from them and then (there will be) face-to-face meeting,” said Azhar, who is also Pakistan’s team leader on FATF.

Pakistani authorities are expecting that the FATF may grant another relaxation, probably up to June 2020 in its upcoming plenary review meeting as the present February deadline is too short a period for Pakistan to comply with all 27 action plans.

In a meeting in October this year, the FATF granted an extension till February 2020 and kept the country on its grey list. It warned that Pakistan would be put on the blacklist if it did not comply with the remaining 22 out of 27 points related to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing.

The first formal response from the FATF is awaited this month-end. “The face-to-face meeting is expected to be held in Sydney in early January 2020 where the Pakistani delegation will be given an opportunity to defend its submitted compliance report,” a source told thenews.com.pk.

FATF’s plenary review meeting will take place in February 2020 in Paris to decide the fate of the country. Pakistan successfully managed to escape falling into the blacklist due to diplomatic support from China, Turkey, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Middle East countries. (IANS)

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