Commissioner Securities Market Division (SMD), in an order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), has stated that Errant AMC remained non-compliant with respect to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering Financing of Terrorism (CFT) regulatory framework.
Errant is a public limited company licensed to undertake business of asset management and investment advisory services, reported Business Recorder.
The SECP Commissioner SMD has directed the company to provide a time-bound plan wherein it should provide a roadmap for ensuring complete compliance with the AML and CFT regulatory framework.
According to the report, the scope of the SECP inspection comprises reviewing compliance of Errant with the AML and CFT Regulations. However, during the course of inspection, various violations/non-compliances were observed.
“It is my considered view that given its professional management and sizeable customer base, the fund manager should set a much higher benchmark for compliance. It is the obligation of the management to ensure that it is implementing the AML and CFT Regulations in its letter and spirit,” the Commissioner SMD was quoted as saying in the report.
The various instances observed by the inspection team indicated lapses in identifying the beneficial ownership of various investors.
I note with concern that the company took steps to rectify the deficiencies observed in the inspection only after the same were brought to its notice. It is most likely that had the inspection not been carried out, the company would have remained non-compliant with respect to AML and CFT regulatory framework,” added the commissioner.
