Islamabad: A US Treasury delegation will meet
senior Pakistani economic managers next week to exchange views
on money-laundering and financing of terrorists, according to
a media report on Saturday.
Officials of Pakistan's Finance Ministry and State Bank
told the Dawn newspaper that the US delegation comprising four
to five officials will hold talks with Finance Minister Abdul
Hafeez Shaikh, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Yaseen Anwar
and other officials.
The delegation may also meet Prime Minister Yousuf Raza
Gilani. Pakistan drew a lot of attention on the issue of money
laundering and financing of terrorists since 9/11.
Transactions in and outside Pakistan have been under
strict scrutiny since then.
The checks on remittances from abroad put an end to all
illegal channels and banks took charge of these transactions.
Under the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance promulgated in
2007, money laundering is a punishable with prison terms
ranging between one and 10 years, a fine of up to Rs 1 million
and forfeiture of property.
On Friday, the State Bank of Pakistan directed all
exchange companies to meticulously follow anti-money
laundering laws and to counter the financing of terrorists by
submitting suspicious transactions manually or electronically
to the Financial Monitoring Unit.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, January 07, 2012, 19:03