FATF delegation to visit Pakistan soon: sources

ISLAMABAD: A delegation of the global money-laundering watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will visit Pakistan soon, sources informed on Thursday.

According to sources, the task force wrote a letter to the government of Pakistan, requesting cooperation with the visiting delegation.

Earlier, the task force had mentioned sanctions on two institutions, although this time it has not mentioned any institution, which possibly means that any institution can be asked for details, the sources revealed.

In case of non-cooperation from Pakistan, it might possibly have to face further sanctions.

Pakistan had not been added to the grey-list of FATF after the conclusion of the task force's plenary session in February.

The list called 'jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies', available on FATF's website, included the names of Ethiopia, Iraq, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Vanuatu, and Yemen. It excluded Pakistan's name.

Earlier, some media channels citing sources had claimed that the decision of including Pakistan in the grey-list was made.

Miftah Ismail, the prime minister's adviser on finance, had also assured that Pakistan will see no substantial effect on its economy if placed on the grey-list.

Pakistan not included in FATF grey-list

FATF was not responsible for reports which claimed that the country had been added to the grey-list, says spokesperson

The next plenary meeting of FATF is expected to take place in June this year.

FATF is a global body that combats terrorist financing and money laundering. Pakistan has been scrambling in recent months to avoid being added to a list of countries deemed non-compliant with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulations by the FATF, a measure that officials fear could hurt its economy.