nd, promotes the adoption and implementation of the FATF Recommendations globally.
The FATF currently comprises of total 39 members.
(a) 37 countries and two regional organizations (European Commission and the Gulf Cooperation Council).
(b) Associate Members – 9.
(c) Observer Organisations – 28.
(d) FATF Observer Nation – Indonesia.
The FATF President is a senior official appointed by the FATF Plenary from among its members. In April 2019, the revised Mandate extended the terms of the FATF Presidency to a two-year period. The term of the President begins on 1 July and ends on 30 June two years after assuming office. Dr. Marcus Pleyer of Germany assumed the position of President of the FATF on 1 July 2020. He succeeded Xiangmin Liu of the People’s Republic of China. Increased tenure will increase consistency in policy issues of FATF.
Very often grey and blacklists are mentioned. However, there is no such official terminology.
FATF Blacklist. Officially known as ‘High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action’. The FATF blacklist sets out the countries that are considered deficient and/or non-cooperative in their anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism regulatory regimes. The list is intended to serve not only as a way of negatively highlighting these countries on the world stage, but as a warning of the high money laundering and terror financing risk that they present. It is extremely likely that blacklisted countries will be subject to economic sanctions and other prohibitive measures by FATF member states and other international organizations. The blacklist is updated periodically in official FATF reports. The current FATF blacklist includes two countries: North Korea and Iran.
FATF Grey list. Officially known as ‘Jurisdictions Subject to Increased Monitoring’. When FATF places a jurisdiction under increased monitoring, it means the country has committed to resolve swiftly the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes and is subject to increased monitoring. Countries on the list may face economic sanctions from world’s financial institutions and experience adverse effects on trade.The countries on the grey list are assessed directly by FATF or FATF-style regional bodies (FSRBs) to report on their progress.. The grey list is updated regularly. The current FATF grey list, issued on 23 October 2020, includes sixteen following countries: Albania, the Bahamas, Barbados, Botswana, Cambodia, Ghana, Jamaica, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zimbabwe.
FATF and FATF-Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs)
The Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) is one of the FSRB. It is an inter-governmental organisation consisting of 41 members (12 are also members of FATF) in the Asia-Pacific region. The purpose of APG is to ensure the adoption, implementation, and enforcement of internationally accepted AML and CFT standards and proliferation financing standards set by FATF. APG was created in 1997. It is an Associate Member of the FATF since 2006. MER and follow up of Pakistan is done by APG.
Follow-up Process FATF And FSRBs
The follow-up process enables FATF and the FSRBs to track progress made by countries in addressing their AML/CFT risks and deficiencies. Follow up process are of two types:-
(i) Regular follow-up as the default monitoring mechanism, based on a system of regular reporting.
(ii) Enhanced follow-up, involving a more intensive process of follow- up, for countries with significant deficiencies, or countries making insufficient progress. In deciding whether to place a country in enhanced follow- up, the Plenary considers both the level of technical compliance and of effectiveness reached by the country
FATF, PAKISTAN AND ‘GREY LIST’
Pakistan has undergone a mutual evaluation in 2009 and 2019. The MER-2009 pointed out strategic deficiencies in Pakistan’s AML/CFT regime and, in consequence, Pakistan made the political commitment at the highest level to address such deficiencies in a time-bound manner. However, Concerned with the tardy pace of implemen