FATF conditions: Joint team formed for action against currency smugglers

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to comply with FATF conditions, the government has constituted joint team comprising all law enforcing agencies (LEAs) for launching actions against currency smugglers at seven bordering customs stations to curb money-laundering and terror-financing.According to official announcement of FBR’s Customs Department on Monday that Pakistan Customs (Operations wing) is following an offensive strategy against smuggling of currency across Pakistan's borders, in view of its enormous implications for the economy of Pakistan, such as promoting money-laundering, terror-financing, corruption, etc.In continuation of this counter-smuggling strategy, Pakistan Customs has now made dedicated teams at the Land Border Customs stations to improve interdiction of cash smuggling and to unearth Terror-Financing (TF) linkages through improved inter-agency cooperation.An Office Order No 2/2019 has been issued on Saturday, August 3, 2019. whereby teams, comprising officials from the relevant Preventive Collectorates and the regional Directorates of Intelligence & Investigations — Customs have been constituted at seven border crossing points viz. Torkham, Ghulam Khan, Kharlachi, Tank, Chaman, Taftan and Wahga. One of the members of the team has also been made the focal person for coordinating with other LEAs.Further, as per the decision made by the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Division, other LEAs, such as FederalInvestigation Agency (FIA), Provincial Counter-Terrorism Departments (CTDs) and Frontier Corps KP and Balochistan, would also nominate a representative of their departments in the joint team for the aforesaid seven border points. This team is tasked with monitoring the movement of persons across the border points and detect and investigate the cases of illicit movement of currency, especially with respect to terror-financing aspect. This initiative, would synergize the efforts of the LEAs working in anti-money laundering and Counter-Terror Financing area and improve information sharing mechanism, as well as contribute towards effective investigation and prosecution of currency smuggling cases.

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