FATF asks Pakistan to track all gold purchases

An international terror financing watchdog has asked Pakistan to implement a new set of constraints in its crackdown against terror financing, including documenting and regulating all gold markets, a media report said on Sunday, April 14.

The finance ministry has reportedly received a new list of recommendations from the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which requires documentation of all gold markets and purchase and sale of gold in the country, Geo TV reported.

The FATF has asked Islamabad to collect data of all gold markets in the country and to restrict the sale and purchase of gold items using cash, instead requiring payment to be made with a debit or credit card, it said.

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The watchdog has also demanded that the country ensure restriction on supply of gold and jewelry to banned outfits and terrorist organisations.

The FATF has urged Pakistan to collect data of all trusts operating across the country as well as their bank accounts on the district level. It has also asked the country to ensure regulation of thousands of registered trust organisations.

Pakistan is due to submit a third report on the measures being taken by the government in compliance with the recommendations of the FATF and its regional affiliate, the Asia-Pacific Group (APG) till April 15.

The compliance report would be taken up by the FATF review group in its meeting scheduled to be held in May.

In June last year, the FATF had placed Pakistan on the 'grey list' of countries whose domestic laws are considered weak to tackle the challenges of money laundering and terrorism financing.

A group of experts from the FATF recently visited Pakistan to review whether Islamabad has made enough progress on global standards against financial crimes to warrant its exclusion from the watchdog's 'grey list'.