UK’s evaluation not based on facts: FO
ALI HUSSAIN
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Monday termed the United Kingdom’s decision to include the country to its high-risk countries list as a move not based on facts and hoped that the British government would review its regulations and “avoid politically motivated and misplaced measures.”
Responding to media queries with regard to the British government’s decision to include Pakistan among 21 countries to high-risk countries with unsatisfactory money laundering and terrorist financing controls, Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri stated: “We have seen the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (High-Risk Countries) Regulations 2021 regarding certain jurisdictions including Pakistan.”
He asserted that the UK’s assessment leading to the subject regulation "is not based on facts".
“Pakistan has a robust AML/CFT regime in place. In particular, over last two years we have taken unprecedented measures through a series of legislative, institutional and administrative actions in the domain of anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism,” Chaudhri said.
He added that these actions, which have also been reported to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and shared with the European Union (EU), have been widely acknowledged by the international community.
He said that the near completion of Pakistan’s FATF Action Plan through 24 out of 27 Action Items is a testament to Pakistan’s commitment and tangible actions in the AML/CFT domain.
“We hope the UK would review its regulations in light of facts on ground and avoid politically motivated and misplaced measures,” he added.
The 21 high-risk countries’ list, which appeared on Sunday to have released by the British government, are the countries including Pakistan that have been specified in Schedule 3ZA [High Risk Countries] under its Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (High-Risk Countries) Regulations 2021.
The countries that have been added to the “high-risk third countries under Schedule 3ZA” include Albania, Barbados, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Ghana, Iran, Jamaica, Mauritius, Morocco, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Senegal, Syria, Uganda, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.
