The United Kingdom has removed Pakistan from its list of “High-Risk Third Countries.”
The decision was made after the early completion of FATF action plans by Islamabad, according to the FM. Bilawal.
The United Kingdom has formally removed Pakistan from its list of “High-Risk Third Countries,” according to Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who made the announcement on Monday.
Bilawal stated that the decision was made after Pakistan’s early completion of FATF action plans in a tweet that also included an image of the official paperwork.
Through the use of a Statutory Instrument, “His Majesty’s Treasury” updated the list of “High-Risk Third Countries” that the United Kingdom maintains on November 14, 2022. According to the decision reached by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on 21 October 2022, Pakistan has been removed from the list as a result of this revision. This was stated in the official document.
The report is favourable. Following the early completion of FATF action plans, the United Kingdom has formally removed Pakistan from its list of “High Risk Third Countries.” 🇵🇰 🤝 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/clcGHy5771
— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) November 14, 2022
It was stated that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) acknowledges the efforts that Pakistan has made to improve its controls over money laundering and the financing of terrorist organizations.
Read more about how FATF removed Pakistan from its ‘grey list here.
Pakistan was removed from a global money laundering watchlist by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in a significant development that took place last month, officials said. This is a move that Islamabad hopes will make it easier for foreign investors to invest in Pakistan and will boost the economy of the country.
After failing to implement policies that were intended to stamp out money laundering and the financing of international terror groups, in June of 2018, the international money-laundering watchdog placed the country on its so-called grey list. The grey list is a list of countries that are considered high risk for money laundering.
The decision resulted in a significant reduction in the flow of currency and deterred direct investment from overseas by surrounding even the smallest enterprises with mountains of bureaucratic red tape.
The organisation with its headquarters in Paris issued a statement in which it said it “welcomes Pakistan’s tremendous success” in its efforts to combat money laundering.
According to the second statement, “Pakistan is consequently no longer subject to the FATF’s heightened monitoring process.”
“The FATF is pleased with Pakistan’s strong progress in enhancing its anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing policy. Pakistan has improved the efficiency of its anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regime and has addressed technical deficiencies in order to meet the commitments of its action plans regarding strategic deficiencies that the FATF identified in June 2018 and June 2021. The latter of these action plans was completed ahead of the deadlines, and it included a total of 34 different action items. According to the announcement, Pakistan is removed from the list of countries that are subject to the FATF’s heightened monitoring process.
According to the further statement, “Pakistan will continue to collaborate with the APG in order to further enhance its AML/CFT system.”
