News Desk, AnyTV, Islamabad
Published by: Amit Mandal
Updated Sat, 05 Mar 2022 10:31 PM IST
Summary
Pakistan has been retained on its gray list by the money laundering and terrorist financing organization for its failure to meet certain targets.
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Expansion
Just two items away from completing action plans
Azhar said in a tweet that Pakistan is now just two items away from completing both its FATF action plans. Pakistan has been on the gray list of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force since June 2018 for failing to stop money laundering. The action plan was given to complete it by October 2019. Pakistan remains on that list because of its failure to comply with FATF orders.
In another tweet, Azhar said, “Our fight against money laundering and terrorist financing continues with a strong national resolve. We follow these restrictions not only for global compliance but also for our own good.
UAE on gray list of anti-money laundering organization
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an organization working against money laundering in the world, has placed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in its gray list. Giving the reason for this, the organization said that it has not made enough efforts to prevent criminals and terrorists from hiding their money.
The Paris-based FATF has included UAE, Dubai, Abu Dhabi as well as Jordan, Syria and Yemen in the Middle East in the list of 23 such countries. This is unlikely to make any difference to the Arabian Peninsula’s free economic zone and real estate business, but could affect the country’s image of a carefully managed free business space. Ratings and other financial agencies take such reports seriously. These can affect the interest rates on the loan. According to the FATF, although the UAE has moved towards a corporate registry and entered into extradition treaties with other countries, much more needs to be done. Diamonds and other valuables can be hidden. In recent years, government departments considered the massive inflow of cash to be the problem of the emirate.
The Washington-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies said in a 2018 report that Dubai’s real estate business is funded by people identified as war beneficiaries, terrorist financiers and drug traffickers. They are considering its real estate business as a safe haven to hide their black money.
Officials started efforts to compensate
Emirates officials have become active on Twitter after this report surfaced. State-run WAM news agency reassured investors that the UAE is a safe and regulated area for business. It will address all international concerns and will continue efforts to identify, prevent and punish perpetrators. Efforts to prevent crimes such as money laundering and terror financing will continue in collaboration with partner countries. Emirate’s senior diplomat Anwar Gargesh wrote on Twitter: “The country has taken adequate steps to prevent financial crimes.” As a major economic sector, we will meet this global challenge by strengthening strategic cooperation with our partners.