Grey list trouble: Pakistan approves four FATF-related bills

The lower house of the Parliament of Pakistan unanimously passed four bills related to the tough conditions set by the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog FATF. Earlier,  two such bills were passed in July and another one was passed in the first week of August.

How significant for Pakistan?

• In 2018, the FATF enlisted Pakistan, on the grey list and asked the nation to carry out an action plan by 2019.
• Amid the COVID-19 condition, Pakistan failed to monitor the money flow to terror groups. That is why FATF decided to keep Pakistan in the “grey list”.

Now Pakistan is looking forward to changing its place from grey list to the white list. To make it possible they are fighting tooth and nail.

Initiatives taken by Pakistan so far

• To satisfy the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Pakistan has passed multiple bills
• They banned 88 new terrorists, according to the list issued by the United Nations Security Council.

What are the obstacles faced by a Grey listed country?

It is difficult for a Grey listed country to sanction financial aid from the World Bank, IMF, ADB, and the European Union. Which eventually causes the financial downfall of a country.

What is FATF?

Paris based Financial Action Task Force is an intergovernmental organization, which was founded in 1989 with the objective of developing policies to combat money laundering that also includes terror financing.

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2020