ISLAMABAD – The Asia Pacific Group (APG) in its recent meeting atGuangzhou, China expressed dissatisfaction over the effectiveness ofPakistan’s efforts against money laundering and terror financing. APG is anaffiliate regional body of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which is aninternational watchdog that monitors the role of UN member countries inmatters relating to ant-money laundering and counter terrorism financing.
It had formally put Pakistan on the greylist in its meeting held in Parisin June last year due to strategic deficiencies in its anti-moneylaundering and terrorism financing regime. Former caretaker Finance MinsterDr. Shamshad Akhtar had done a lot of firefighting by apprising theparticipants of the meeting about the progress in two out of three areas ofFATF but even then Pakistan was greylisted.
It is pertinent to mention that in the past it were the world powers likethe United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) which encouraged thetransfer of financial resources from developing countries through moneylaundering which was done by the ruling political and business elite andtop bureaucrats. In the UK Financial Crimes Act was enforced in September2017. However, a fugitive Pakistani politician Altaf Hussain was givenclean chit in case of money transfer from Pakistan through money throughmoney laundering.
Likewise, the extradition request of the present government against theabsconding former Finance Minister Ishaq Dsar and sons of convicted anddisqualified former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Hassan Nawaz and HussainNawaz may not be entertained. Might is right because in the prevailingWorld Order it the US pressure that is used to malign and victimize thedeveloping countries , install and defend the corrupt elected and unelectedgovernments there so long as they are like assets for this super power.Pakistan is no exception in this regard.
A Pakistani delegation led by the Federal Finance Secretary Mohammad YounisDagha attended the APG meeting which faced harsh questions over theadministrative and legal measures so far taken to curb the twin menace ofmoney laundering and terror financing. Some participants of the meeting,particularly the ones representing India raised tough questions aboutPakistan’s seriousness to act against proscribed organisations andeffectiveness of internal control.
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The Foreign Office has already expressed anguish and indignation overIndia’s propaganda tactics to manipulate the APG platform against Pakistanto realise the political objective of eventually putting its westernneighbour country on the blacklist.The APG has been tasked to submit its report on Pakistan’s compliance of 27points FATF action plan on anti-money laundering and counter terrorismfinancing.
The analytical report of this affiliate body would be deliberated by theFATF in its meeting in September to decide whether to exclude Pakistan fromthe greylist or not.
In October last year its delegation paid 10 day visit of Pakistan and heldmeetings with the high officials of Financial Management Unit of theCentral Bank, the Federal Investigation agency, Anti Narcotics Force andSecurity Exchange Commission of Pakistan. The APG delegation had pointedout certain weakness in the institutional and legal frameworks andemphasised to plug them.
