ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Saturday shared details of eight major actions implemented in the last four years that led the country out of the international watchdog’s so-called grey list.

Meanwhile, Hammad Azhar, former PTI minister and head of the Pakistan team dealing with the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), also spoke at length in interactions with the media regarding reforms that the PTI government implemented in the last four years.

The last compliance report on 34 items was submitted to the FATF Secretariat on April 7. The FBR deals only with eight action plans.

After exiting the grey list, Mr Azhar said that Pakistan could now apply for FATF membership. Currently, there are 39 members of the international watchdog who are in core positions to counter money laundering and terror financing.

Former minister says PTI govt submitted last compliance report on April 7

Mr Azhar said there were no sanctions on Pakistan while being on the grey list. The due diligence increases for a country after coming on the blacklist.

He further elaborated on the benefits of the white list which he said will be in the shape of better safeguard measures introduced in our financial and banking sectors. “Our financial system is now in comparison with the advanced economies,” he remarked.

He further said the terror financing laws were also on a par with the developed world and had also been implemented effectively.

Mr Azhar said the charity distribution system in Pakistan was also now channelised and documented and suspicious transaction reports were also up to the mark.

He gave the example of ‘Maqsood Chaprasi’ as one of the test cases of suspicious transactions in Pakistan. He was referring to Malik Maqsood, a peon of the Sharif family and a key suspect in a money laundering case.

He recalled that the PTI government implemented the required legislation in joint sessions of the parliament due to strong opposition from PML-N and PPP. “We have made all our commitments to implement all laws despite opposition from leading parties,” he said.

He further said that in the last three and a half years, the PTI government also submitted reports to the FATF secretariat regarding practical actions and outcomes of the legislation. “We have shared reports which are available in the record,” he further remarked.

Like many other governmental organisations, the FBR has played a key role in completing the FATF action plans relating to Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs), cash smuggling, investigating tax crimes for money laundering and confiscating the proceeds of tax frauds.

In 34 items of the FATF action plans, the FBR has directly dealt with at least eight actions and spearheaded the process of their implementation.

In order to ensure compliance with regard to DNFBPs, the tax authorities have issued Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations, conducted extensive outreach programmes to educate about DNFBPs, established a dedicated IT-based DNFBP Manage­ment System, launched customised mobile app for registrations and screening purposes, carried out on-site inspections and imposed a wide range of penalties for non-compliance.

Similarly, in the area of cash smuggling, the Customs Department has fortified cross-border controls and implemented a comprehensive mechanism to combat cash smuggling by all means possible.

Likewise, the FBR has also undertaken several money laundering investigations against tax crimes and made significant confiscations. It also dedicated one of its senior officers, Mohammad Iqbal, who has made significant contributions to completing the FATF action plans while on deputation for three years in the National Counter-Terrorism Authority and later supervised the tasks related to DNFBPs.

FBR Chairman Asim Ahmad has felicitated all the government organisations and their officials who worked for the exit from the grey list. He reiterated FBR’s “unflinching resolve” and “unwavering commitment” to continue implementing the AML/CFT regime in the areas under its domain.

Published in Dawn, October 23th, 2022