Kamis, 14 Juni 2012

Analysis of Pakistan Money Laundering Bill

It was agreed that Pakistan needs to enact an anti-money laundering legislation meeting its international obligations and commitments. However, there is a growing consensus that the fight against money laundering law currently before Parliament will be amended to take exactly those steps.

During delete post 9 / 11 terrorism-related operations, and a universal desire for funding opportunities for sponsoring terrorist acts, is of crucial importanceStates to pursue his able to keep all suspicious money transfers. This requires the support of financial institutions and most banks have special departments to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) have developed contacts in each compartment. However, Pakistan needs an appropriate regulatory regime to ensure such compliance and to take under investigation, the criminalization and prosecution of crimes of money laundering

The adoption of an anti-money laundering in a canagenda item for most high-level meetings and Pakistan under pressure for rapid adoption of this law were part of Western governments, institutions and other international lending institutions such as the granting of the Financial Action (FATF) and the Asia Pacific Group (APG).

Moreover, the United Nations adopted Resolution 1617, adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, and therefore binding on all Member States, "urges all States to implementcomprehensive, international standards of the FATF Forty Recommendations on Money Laundering and the FATF recommendations embodied in nine special terrorist financing. "

The Financial Action Task Force, an international organization whose main objective is to develop and promote national and international strategies to combat the financing of money laundering and terrorist financing, has developed more than forty nine recommendations, which become a reference point for money laundering initiatives and anti-Measures.

The AML bill is currently pending before Parliament for approval, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue ("Board") has already informed Mr. Omar Ayub Khan on the bill, said earlier this month and the rules committee also objected to some already discussed.

The committee is scheduled to discuss the rest of the bill in the coming weeks and the laws are now under consideration andthe text of the bill by the committee is open for discussion, the thought of the Research Society of International Law (RSIL), it is recommended that carried out a workshop for stakeholders to identify and discuss their concerns about the text of the draft law. The workshop was told by the representative of the government sub-20-governmental organizations and financial institutions and a productive debate was attended on the topic was started.

It 'important to say that this committee has notNot all legal briefing on the bill reported as such. However RSIL likely to be invited by the Committee for a formal presentation on the Bill.

eminent lawyer and international lawyer, is Mr. Ahmer Bilal Soofi believe that the bill is currently under discussion in Parliament will go beyond the minimum requirements of conformity. According to him, the bill must be changed, otherwise it is serious operational hurdles, which also creates the minimumIn comparison difficult. Resultantly, in the end of the day, even if the law were made, the international community to see Pakistan as an infringement with serious measures against money laundering and commitments. Mr Soofi represented Pakistan in UN General Assembly negotiations on the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCOC), which contained provisions on money laundering and also of the FATF / APG conformity assessment of Pakistan.

Pakistan is not onlyrequired such a policy in the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1617, but there are still other obligations under the UN Convention on drugs, a commitment to legal assistance to requesting Member, a strong rule of practice made under various international conventions and the UN's annual report on money laundering measures taken by Pakistan to U.S. law. From another perspective should, in Pakistan, by virtue of being a developing country efforts to be taken against money laundering and terrorist financingfinancing policy to help to protect and develop their economy.

In this context RSIL believes that there is no need for special courts for money laundering, established as proposed in the bill. The allegations of money laundering should be either in the courts, or offenses in courts generally seek to be classified as a tax stand-alone. Others have not supported the development of specialized courts against money laundering. In addition, the FATF Recommendations is not necessary, becausePakistan should establish a parallel legal system for prosecuting crimes that are associated naturally with the existing offenses to be tried in courts between them?

Furthermore, under international standards, money laundering should be prosecuted as a crime in itself, criminal proceedings, without first conviction of a culprit for the basic offense. The bill does not conform to this requirement.

RSIL contends that the definition of money laundering in the proposed bill also wrong. Thecorrect definition is found in the Vienna Convention and the Palermo Convention. The above definitions are approved by the FATF. To calibrate the role of the principal authors and accomplices of the criminal charges, while the definition in the current draft does not unnecessarily broad.

RSIL also claims that the bill must specifically exclude these payments were made to avoid income taxes, tax offenses are not included in the list of predicate offenses. Moreover,is the need to clarify a question whether the Act applies to launder money before entering into force.

The existing law has made a law is complex and confusing for the assistance and support in investigating and prosecuting money laundering obtained. We believe that these provisions be replaced with similar provisions on mutual legal assistance in Article 46 of UN Convention against Corruption and 18be the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and when the same be precise formulations of the legislative scheme of MLA.

RSIL team believes that the financial monitoring unit (FMU), under the proposed bill, entitled to receive suspicious financial transactions are received by the banks created, was unnecessarily broad powers to summon, record production and will carry out investigations. Not only did another State,Sun FATF Recommendations also will not need this. Therefore, the investigative powers of the FMU should be withdrawn, and the law will be amended accordingly, otherwise this will have serious implications for banks and other financial institutions in the country in terms of compliance and reporting. The investigation should be only the domain which has accused the agency of a functional link with the predicate offense.

Moreover, most of the current lawsIndian law was flawed, entitled "Prevention of Money Laundering copied 'adopted in 2002. While there is nothing wrong in copying good Indian law provisions on the same topic, this has particularly on Indian law has not been approved General has been given and is in fact faced international criticism in international forums like the Asia Pacific Group (APG), especially during 2005 EMS conference in Australia.

And 'RSIL the view that an anti – moneyMoney laundering law to be adopted, because Pakistan is obliged by international law to do so. In this context, the specific recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) should be implemented by services than financial institutions and other governmental actions in Pakistan. In summary, RSIL is of the opinion that the bill should be corrected and adjusted so that it ensures good performance of anti-money laundering measures changed in Pakistan.

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