New Delhi, June 25
The global Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has decided to keep Pakistan on the grey list of nations requiring constant monitoring till it demonstrates that terror financing investigations and prosecutions target senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terrorist groups, FATF Chairman Marcus Pleyer told the media on Friday.
“Though Pakistan government has made substantial progress and has largely addressed 26 out of 27 action points, it is still failing to implement global FATF standards in a number of areas. This means the risk of money laundering remains high in turn fueling corruption and organised crime,” said Pleyer at the end of the FATF’s virtual plenary that ended today.
Pakistan also remains the subject of an investigation by FATF’s regional body, the Asia Pacific Group (APG) regarding “serious issues” on money laundering and terror financing. The implication is that even if Pakistan completes all the 27 action points given by FATF, it will also have to clear the APG hurdle. Pakistan will also be subjected to on-site investigations by both FATF and APG before it is cleared.
FATF is the second international body where the issue of Pakistan’s mollycoddling of UN designated terrorists, including from LeT and JeM, has been tabled. At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) meeting of National Security Advisors on Wednesday, Ajit Doval, had proposed an action plan against LeT and JeM.
Doval also pressed for the full implementation of UN resolutions and targeted sanctions against UN designated terrorist individuals and entities as well as the adoption of international standards to counter terror financing, including an MoU between SCO and FATF.
An attempt by Pakistani journalists to corner India on the issue of its police unearthing stolen uranium could not materialise. Pleyer said he was aware of the media reports in this regard but “will not comment on something in India we haven’t assessed”.
“The routine mutual evaluation of India and some other countries had been delayed due to the pandemic and it will be held as soon as there is an improvement in the situation,’’ said Pleyer.
Another attempt to plead Pakistan’s case for exiting the grey list because it had completed all but one of the FATF’s action points also came a cropper. “All deficiencies must be addressed,” replied Pleyer while adding that such a practice will discourage countries that have completed all their action points. “We treat all countries equally. This is our expectation from the Pakistan government,” he added.
The FATF plenary also deliberated on a new addition—money laundering from environmental crime—which generates billions in illicit profits each year. This includes illegal mining, illegal logging, illegal land clearing, and waste trafficking.
“There has been limited action. As a result, environmental crimes have become ‘low risk, high reward’ activities that provide a safe source of income for criminals, while causing devastating damage to the world’s ecosystem,” it noted.
