Pakistan remains on FATF’s grey list

In News: The global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog FATF has retained Pakistan on its terrorism financing “grey list” and asked Islamabad to address at the earliest the remaining deficiencies in its financial system

• Pakistan has been on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) since June 2018 for failing to check money laundering, leading to terror financing, and was given a plan of action to complete it by October 2019.
• The plenary recently decided against existing Pakistan from the category despite the country meeting 32 out of 34 action points
• Pakistan’s robust progress on its global commitments to fight financial crimes was appreciated at the concluding session

Financial Action Task Force

• An inter-governmental body established in 1989 during the G7 Summit in Paris.
• Assesses the strength of a country’s anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing frameworks.

Objectives:

• To set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.

Headquarters:

• Its Secretariat is located at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) headquarters in Paris.

Member Countries:

• The FATF currently has 39 members including two regional organisations – the European Commission and Gulf Cooperation Council. India is a member of the FATF.

Lists under FATF:

Grey List:

• Countries that are considered safe haven for supporting terror funding and money laundering are put in the FATF grey list.
• This inclusion serves as a warning to the country that it may enter the blacklist.

Black List:

• Countries known as Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories (NCCTs) are put in the blacklist. These countries support terror funding and money laundering activities.
• The FATF revises the blacklist regularly, adding or deleting entries.
• Currently, Iran and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) are under High-risk Jurisdiction or black list.

Sessions:

• The FATF Plenary is the decision making body of the FATF. It meets three times per year.

Source: The Hindu, Indian Express 

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) With Reference to the “United Nations Credentials Committee”, consider the following statements: (2022)

1. It is a committee set up by the UN Security Council and works under its supervision.
2. It traditionally meets in March, June and September every year.
3. It assesses the credentials of all UN members before submitting a report to the General Assembly for approval.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 3 only
2. 1 and 3
3. 2 and 3
4. 1 and 2