*ISLAMABAD: **FATF decides Pakistan’s fate on greylist in crucial plenarysession.*
A crucial plenary meeting of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF)kicked off in Paris on Sunday where it would be decided whether or notPakistan had taken enough measures against money laundering and terrorfinancing to be taken off the global watchdog’s grey list.
The meeting will formally start from tomorrow (Monday) and last untilFebruary 21.
Pakistani officials are fairly optimistic about exiting the grey listsaying that there has been significant progress in meeting the financialwatchdog’s requirements.
In February 2018, the FATF had found serious deficiencies in the country’santi-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism regimes and gavePakistan a 27-point action plan to exit the grey list.
In October last year it gave another warning to Islamabad to show fullcompliance by February 2020.
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During the meetings of the Asia-Pacific Joint Group of the FATF in Beijinglast month, Pakistan was found to have largely addressed 14 of the27 points in the action plan. There was partial compliance in 11 of them.
However, Pakistani officials fear that the FATF might declare two actionpoints related to cash couriers and convictions in terror-financingcases non-compliant.
Sources said Pakistan was still not fully compliant but had madesignificant progress that was acknowledged by the countries that reviewedits progress report.
It has largely addressed the issues highlighted against majority of theaction points.
