Parallel to FATF review, Pakistan under watch for terror funding

The Indian Express
Dated: March 27, 2019
By Rahul Triphati

The two-day mutual evaluation process by the APG, which started Monday, is separate from an FATF review but will examine Islamabad’s compliance with 40 recommendations made by the global task force.

Signalling more international pressure for Pakistan, the Asia/Pacific Group (APG) has expressed displeasure over Islamabad’s lack of compliance with global anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing norms.

The APG is an inter-governmental organisation modelled on the lines of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which decided in January to keep Pakistan on its “grey list” for having made only “limited progress” in curbing money laundering and terrorism. 

Described as FATF Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs), APG covers 41 jurisdictions, including India and Pakistan. The two-day mutual evaluation process by the APG, which started Monday, is separate from an FATF review but will examine Islamabad’s compliance with 40 recommendations made by the global task force. Sources said the APG committee visiting Pakistan comprises six members, including from the US, China, the UK, Turkey, Indonesia and the Maldives.

According to APG, this is its second mutual evaluation for Pakistan in the last ten years. The organisation will submit its report after the ongoing on-site evaluation to FATF, which is expected to take it up in October.A non-compliance report from APG could push Pakistan further into a corner, sources said, adding that the country has failed to comply with 28 out of the 40 FATF recommendations.Sources said that if Pakistan fails to comply with “at least 10-12” of the 40 FATF recommendations, it faces sanctions by international monetary bodies.

In that case, they said, Pakistan faces the risk of being downgraded by multilateral lenders like the IMF, World Bank, ADB, etc. It may also be subject to a downgrade in risk rating by agencies such as Moodys, S&P and Fitch, sources said. Among the 40 FATF recommendations, Islamabad is said to be either fully or partially compliant with only eight, sources said. During the FATF review earlier, Pakistan had submitted a 26-point action plan in June 2018 to the task force and committed to implementing it over the next 15 months.The action plan included a squeeze on the finances of terror outfits such as the Jamaat-ud Dawa, Falah-i-Insaniyat, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Haqqani Network and the Afghan Taliban.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ED tracks Swiss Bank A/Cs of Agusta scamster

The Poineer February 10,2019 Rakesh K Singh The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has tracked a dozen Swiss bank accounts in the name of Rajiv Saxena, who is key accused in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam. The ED has also found out accounts held by  his family members and associates where the kickbacks in the now scrapped deal were allegedly parked. Two bank accounts are in the name of Rajiv Saxena’s  associates Pankaj Jain and Sumita Jain who are also the authorised signatories. The  third is in the name of another associate Ajit Singh Bubber, but Rajiv and his family members are authorised signatories. The remaining nine accounts are largely owned and operated by Rajiv, his family members and associates. Rajiv Saxena was deported by the UAE authorities on January 30 and the ED formally arrested him the next day and a court later granted his remand to the agency. He is currently undergoing custodial interrogation by the ED. The agency had in 2017 arrested his
Read more

J&K Cricket Board Scam: Chargesheet Filed Against Farooq Abdullah, 3 Others By CBI

OUTLOOK July 16, 2018 The agency has levelled charges of criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust under the Ranbir Penal Code against Abdullah and three others. The CBI on Monday filed a chargesheet against former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah and three others in a special court in Srinagar in connection with alleged irregularities and misappropriation of funds in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association. After the fall of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the BJP government, this is the biggest development that has taken place in the state. The National Conference has not reacted to the chargesheet so far. The agency has levelled charges of criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust under the Ranbir Penal Code against Abdullah, the then president of JKCA, Md Saleem Khan - the then general secretary, Ahsan Ahmad Mirza - the then treasuer and Bashir Ahmad Misgar, an executive in the J&K Bank. The BCCI gave Rs 112 crore t
Read more

As financial insecurity rises in urban India, so does investment in insurance

Image
Scroll.in March 13, 2020 Urban Indians are becoming less confident about their financial security. Up to 58% of them fret over financial independence post retirement, which is a 4% increase from last year. An equal share of urban Indians worry about meeting their daily medical expenses and sustaining their current lifestyle once they stop working. The findings are part of a survey published by Delhi-based Max Life Insurance in association with London-based consultancy Kantar. The firms surveyed 7,014 respondents in 25 cities, including six metros, nine tier-1 cities, and 10 tier-2 cities, between December 2019 and January 2020. Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz The trends Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz A significant share of urban Indians also say their families will have no financial support in the event of the breadwinner’s death. In such a scenario, around 57% believe the family sav
Read more