Pakistan will be blacklisted in FATF in Feb 2020? Report

PARIS – Pakistan will be blacklisted by global terror funding and moneylaundering watchdog FATF if it does not swiftly act against terror fundingby February 2020. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Fridayexpressed serious concerns over the lack of progress made by Pakistan toaddress its terror financing risks.

“Pakistan needs to do more and faster. If by February 2020, Pakistandoesn’t make significant progress, it will be put in the ‘Black List’,”FATF President Xiangmin Liu said while addressing a press conference on thelast day of its five-day plenary in Paris.

While Pakistan has escaped the terror black list, according to sources,there was a consensus among members in the global watchdog to retainPakistan in ‘grey list’ based on its 27-point action plan.A decision on the status of Pakistan will now be taken by FATF in Februarynext year Sources privy to FATF deliberations added that “In light of theadditional fact of Pakistan’s poor performance on its Mutual Evaluation,chances of Pakistan exiting the Grey List in the next few years are nowreduced to nil. The possibility of a formal Black Listing in Feb 2020 isnow probable.”