June 17, 2022 (MLN): Now, once again, the time has come when all eyes are on Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s plenary meeting where the chances are high for Pakistan to get out of FATF’s grey list.
Currently, FATF plenary meeting is underway in Berlin and the outcome regarding the status of the countries on the grey list, will be announced at the end of the meeting today.
Pakistan’s top diplomatic sources have told that Pakistan is just “one step away” from being removed from the grey list of the FATF, CNN-News1 reported.
“Sources said Pakistan is likely to get ‘on-site visit’ to exit the grey list. The International Co-operation Review Group (ICRG) of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is likely to visit Pakistan in August, given that the country has fulfilled over 30 of the 34 conditions put forth by the agency” it added.
A spokesman for the federal government in an interview with BBC told thatreports so far indicating that the decision would be in Pakistan's favor, adding that even if Pakistan is removed from the watchdog's grey list, the FATF team would visit Pakistan for an inspection, which would take seven to eight months to complete.
To recall, the four-day meeting of the Paris-based watchdog was started on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 in Berlin, in which matters regarding Pakistan was to be discussed on June 15 and 16.
In its last plenary meeting held on March 4, 2022, the watchdog kept Pakistan on its grey list despite the fact that the country had fulfilled the anti-money laundering its maximum technical requirements.
This time it is expected that Pakistan will be taken off the FATF’s grey list as the country has made significant progress in tackling most of the action plans, and fighting against money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT) in the past few months.
