ISLAMABAD: A twelve-member delegation on Friday led by Secretary Finance Arif Ahmed Khan left for Sydney, Australia to participate in the scheduled meeting of International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
And Pakistan electronically sent the Terror Financing Risk Assessment Report to the FATF on Friday, reports an English daily.
The high-powered delegation comprises of representatives of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU).
An official stated the high-powered delegation will respond to queries and observations of the FATF based on the risk assessment report forwarded to the international anti-terror financing body.
The report electronically sent to the FATF indicates the implementation status of plans for several agencies of the government based on its suggestions.
According to the report, a total of 4,643 dubious transactions linked to money laundering and terror financing were unearthed and blocked since 2015.
This included 3,677 suspicious transaction reports (STRs) and 966 financial intelligence reports.
Also, a total of 1,617 transactions were caught last year, which included 975 STRs and 210 were financial intelligence reports.
Two key routes i.e. Pak-Iran and Pak-Afghan borders respectively were unearthed for facilitating money laundering and terror financing.
For combatting this challenge, security and checking systems at Pak-Afghan border had been beefed up with improved technology and vigilance.
Also, security had been strengthened at the Pak-Iran border to combat this menace.
Moreover, the report observed the long coastal belt also constituted part of smuggling and security was being beefed up via law enforcement agencies (LEAs), which includes coast and maritime guards.
The report highlighted the Afghan Transit Trade route was also from where unregistered financial flows were originating from.
It added that all these mediums were being abused by foreign agencies to facilitate terror-linked activities.
The report explained that tools being utilized for the financial transaction for terrorism included donations, cash smuggling, drugs, non-governmental organizations, foreign agencies and natural resources.
The FIA identified 1,295 illegal transactions, FBR 1,185 and SBP 1,049 since 2015 respectively.
