Islamabad: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance on Monday approved amendments to the country’s anti-money laundering laws; allowing official investigators to arrest accused individuals without warrants, a news source reported. The amendments will also extend the scope of the punishment set for money laundering cases as well as arm the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) with additional powers.
Financial Monitoring Unit Director General Lubna Farooq stated that the bureau was a law enforcement body of the country and it had to be included in the list of agencies given additional powers under the new amendments; adding that such a move was necessary to meet the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Pakistan had been placed on FATF’s grey list based on findings that the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism efforts and laws did not meet the international standards. The country has until August 14 to pass all the requisite legislative formalities in order to comply with the 27-point requirements of FATF. The same will be placed before the FAFT plenary committee in September.
