Pakistan signed a contract with the UAE on Wednesday to combat money laundering and terror financing.
Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the Financial Monitoring Unit in Pakistan and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in the UAE will enhance cooperation through knowledge exchange.
The MoU was signed by Pakistani Ambassador to the UAE Ghulam Dastagir and the acting FIU president Ali Faisal Ba’Alawi. Speaking about the growth, Dastagir said data sharing between the two countries would enable them to curb money laundering and other financial crimes.
He said, “The signing the MoU reflects the strong commitment of the Pakistani government to enhance cooperation with the international community to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.”
He said the MoU with the Financial Monitoring Unit in Pakistan was in line with the UAE’s interest in contributing effectively to the shared aim of the international community to share financial information linked to money laundering and terrorism-financing crimes.
The Task Force on Financial Action (FATF), a global body that develops policies to combat money laundering and terror funding, placed Pakistan on its grey list in June last year. Pakistan must fulfil its 27-point plan of action to avoid being blacklisted as a non-compliant country.
The joint group of the global body is scheduled to meet this month to discuss the case of Pakistan before it is put in front of the FATF plenary which is scheduled to be held in October.
Pakistan received a further three-month extension to finalize its 27-point action plan due to the coronavirus pandemic. The extended deadline was June this year but due to the postponement of the FATF plenary, the FATF has pushed it forward.
