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London:
Pakistan is amongst various nations flagged as utilizing luxurious properties and treasured jewelry as a guise for funnelling “dirty money” to the UK by an official report collated by the British authorities.
The “National risk assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing 2020” evaluation, compiled by the UK Treasury and Home Office and launched this month, finds that criminals proceed to buy excessive worth property, resembling actual property, treasured gems and jewelry to launder illicit funds, that are transferred from Pakistan to the UK and vice versa.
“This includes proceeds from corruption and drug trafficking. The risk from cash-based money laundering from the UK to Pakistan via smuggled cash and MSBs [money service businesses] also persists,” it reveals.
“In 2018 Pakistan was nominated to the FATF’s [Financial Action Task Force] list of jurisdictions with strategic anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) deficiencies, known as the ‘grey list’, due to widespread CTF deficiencies… Pakistan failed to complete the FATF action plan resulting from their nomination to the ‘grey list’ by the required deadline of October 2019,” it notes.
While the FATF acknowledged “notable improvements” within the months following, additionally they warned that ought to important and sustainable progress not be made when subsequent reviewed then the FATF might name on its members to advise their monetary establishments to present particular consideration to enterprise relations and transactions with Pakistan, the report warns.
“The UK, as a member of FATF, continues to closely monitor for sustained and timely efforts. The UK also continues to support Pakistan, including with capacity building assistance, to help Pakistani authorities meet their commitments,” it provides.
Besides Pakistan, the opposite nations referenced within the report embody China, Hong Kong, Russia and the UAE. The UK property market is seen as a very engaging space for doubtful abroad fund flows.
“The high amounts of money that can be moved in one transaction and the appreciation in value, along with the enhanced lifestyle, makes them very attractive to criminals,” the report notes.
The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has expanded its use of Unexplained Wealth Orders to freeze a number of multimillion-pound properties in London whereas it investigates how the cash used to purchase them was obtained. As an instance, the report highlights how in December 2019 the NCA negotiated a settlement with a Pakistani nationwide to return funds and property valued at roughly 190 million kilos to Pakistan.
“This success would not have been possible without the close cooperation between UK and Pakistan law enforcement agencies,” it concluded.
The common overview of the dangers related to monetary transactions finds that the usage of complicated methods of shell firms registered abroad in secrecy jurisdictions obscured possession and made it onerous to search out out the place the cash actually got here from.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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