- The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has asked Pakistan to implement a new set of constraints in its crackdown against terror financing.It includes documenting and regulating all gold markets.
- The FATF has asked Pakistan to collect data of all gold markets in the country and to restrict the sale and purchase of gold items using cash, instead payment should be made with a debit or credit card.
- Further,Pakistan has to submit a third report on the measures being taken by the government in compliance with the recommendations of the FATF and its regional affiliate,the Asia-Pacific Group (APG) till April 15. The compliance report would be taken up by the FATF review group in its meeting scheduled to be held in May.
- In June 2018,the Paris-based FATF had placed Pakistan on the grey list of countries.Pakistan was put on the grey list after its domestic laws were considered weak to tackle the challenges of money laundering and terrorism financing.
- The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 on the initiative of the G7.It is a “policy-making body” which works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in various areas. The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
- The objectives of the FATF are to (a) set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures (b) for combating money laundering (c)terrorist financing and (d) other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
