After Pakistan, now Nepal in danger of slipping into FATF Grey List

Kathmandu: Both India and Pakistan are neighbors and the Line of Control (LOC) is fixed between the two. Perhaps because of this it is not easy for the enemy to cross the Indian borders. But just imagine if terrorists from Nepal start entering the country. The information that is coming about Nepal is of great concern for India. Just like Pakistan, now the risk of Nepal being included in the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has increased. According to the Nepal media, officials from the FATF’s Asia-Pacific region have visited the country in the past. FATF is the organization that monitors money-laundering and terror financing at the international level. After the tour of this team, people are worried that if Nepal comes in the grey list, then a big problem may arise for the Himalayan nation.

Why did FATF team visit Nepal?

The purpose of the FATF team’s visit was to see whether Nepal was living up to the standards set by it. The Asia-Pacific Group (APG) of the FATF will see how much progress Nepal had made in this direction by December 16, 2022. If Nepal does not live up to FATF expectations, then it will be put in the FATF grey list. Words such as ‘blacklist’ or ‘grey list’ are not included in the FATF glossary. But these words are often used for the countries included in the list of the organization.

What are black and grey lists of FATF?

FATF black list means high risk countries on which action is necessary. At present, North Korea, Iran and Myanmar are included in this list. FATF grey list means those countries which have failed to stop money laundering or terror financing. They don’t have any strategy to tackle these issues. Once in the FATF grey list, these countries have to submit an action plan with a definite limit.

Nepal was in FATF grey list earlier

Nepal was in the FATF grey list from 2008 to 2014. After that Nepal had made a lot of progress in this direction. In the year 2008, Nepal had amended the Anti-Money Laundering Act. After this, Nepal had come out of this list in the year 2014. The Kathmandu Post, quoting a senior official of Nepal Rastra Bank, has written that the danger will increase significantly after coming in the gray list. Making laws related to money laundering and terror financing in the country and then implementing them is a challenge in itself. Nepal has identified 15 laws to be made compatible with FATF standards. PMO official Dhanraj Gyawali has said that the process of amending the laws had already started and the term of the House of Representatives ended before anything could happen. A preliminary report will be presented by the APG in February and after that Nepal will present its stand. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.