The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has rejected a report by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that the Raast payment network was being used for money laundering.
SBP said the report did not raise any concerns about the integrity of Pakistan’s instant payment system. Readers should take note that the FATF’s fact-finding report clearly mentions Raast as one of the payment channels being exploited for their low-cost remittance charges (Report page: 35).
The clarification comes after a case was highlighted in the FATF and OECD’s joint fact-finding report in which a hawala network operating between Oman and Pakistan used digital payment channels, including Raast, for domestic transfers.
SBP said the FATF report does not identify Raast as a money-laundering mechanism or raise any specific concerns about the integrity of its payment infrastructure.
Any interpretation linking Raast itself to money laundering misrepresents the report’s findings and context. The regulator opined that Raast was mentioned only as a legitimate domestic payment channel and does not currently support cross-border transfers.
The post SBP Rejects FATF Report Linking RAAST to Money Laundering in Pakistan appeared first on ProPakistani.
