KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan on Friday inaugurated a high-tech data centre which will help the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) in tracking down money laundering and terrorism financing.

The FMU is the financial intelligence unit of the finance ministry tasked with fighting money laundering and terror financing.

Established with the financial assistance of the UK Department for International Development, the data centre will host a specialist analytical suite of software (goAML) developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).


Won’t detect money laundering taking place through illegal channels: SBP official


According to Shabbar Zaidi, a chartered accountant and former provincial finance minister, overvaluation and a lack of genuineness in financial transactions alert authorities to the possibility of money laundering.

The data centre will enable the FMU to automate the collection and analyse suspicious financial transactions being received from banks, exchange companies and other reporting entities in Pakistan. Moreover, the integrated system will enhance the FMU’s capability of disseminating financial intelligence to designated law enforcement agencies.

Speaking to Dawn, SBP Director Abid Qamar said the data centre would detect money laundering that was currently being done through formal banking channels. It was not meant for controlling money laundering that was taking place thro­ugh illegal channels, such as physical movement of currency notes acr­oss international borders, he added.

Mr Qamar said the extent of money laundering could not be determined right now. “We will have sufficient data in terms of the number of suspicious transactions and convictions in due course,” he added.

Previously, the analysis of financial data at the autonomous FMU was undertaken manually, which was slow and vulnerable to oversight. Now the customised software and high-precision equipment ins­ta­lled in the new data centre will allow the FMU to analyse suspicious transactions in a more robust, sophisticated and automated manner.

The British high commissioner and the UNODC representative accompanied SBP Governor Ashraf Mehmood Wathra at the inauguration.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2017

Follow Dawn Business on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.