ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is committed to take all possible steps in compliance of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Action Plan to ensure effective institutional coordination and swift action to curb the menace of terror financing and money laundering.
Caretaker Finance Minister Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, while chairing a meeting of National Executive Committee (NEC), said the active participation of all agencies will pave the future course of action
The NEC is a high-level body established to oversee both policy and implementation matters of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.
The meeting was attended by federal ministers of Interior and law, Governor State Bank, Secretary Foreign Affairs and senior officials of Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU), National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and other concerned departments and institutions.
The meeting took stock of the progress made to strengthen the institutional framework and coordination for the implementation of the FATF Action Plan. Most principal agencies reported having set up focal points and dedicated units to pursue effective implementation.
Senior officials from various departments briefed the meeting on progress regarding their respective spheres of work, and agreed that all agencies will coordinate to fast track work to ensure effective compliance with the action plan.
In line with its mandate, the FMU will coordinate, review and prepare a consolidated progress report for final submission to the Asia-Pacific Joint Group by middle of August 2018.
The meeting agreed on key steps to be taken to strengthen federal-provincial coordination to ensure effective coordination among the law enforcing agencies and the concerned provincial departments.
Furthermore, a review group will be formed to finalise the critical components of the national risk assessment; launch work on the mutual evaluation by APG, and strengthen FMU to ensure it is able to coordinate overall AML/CFT work and offer the required advisory support to all agencies.
NEC reviewed preparations for the forthcoming visit to Pakistan by APG in second week of August, and the second meeting scheduled to be held in mid-September which will examine progress in different areas of the FATF Action Plan.
The APG will meet various stakeholders to discuss Technical compliance (TCQ) report and the effectiveness report submitted by Pakistan. The visit will serve as an opportunity to develop understanding among domestic authorities on the mutual evaluation procedures and assessment methodology.
The finance minister underscored the need to expedite background work to ensure compliance with stipulated milestones and undertake coordinated work on mutual evaluation.
