International Monetary Fund (IMF) representative Teresa Daban Sanchez has asked to Pakistan to take action to curb money laundering and increase its revenue generation to strengthen forex reserves.
According to media reports, she asked the government to limit tax exemptions and widen its tax base. She said the country needed to put in more efforts to curtail circular debt and increase electricity rates as agreed upon in the deal with the Fund.
“Energy reforms are the fourth foundation and institutional reform is the fifth to fix the Pakistani economy,” she said, adding that the IMF has nothing to do with the controversial bill pertaining to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The IMF official’s comments on money laundering came days after the United Kingdom placed Pakistan on high-risk list pertaining to the money laundering and terror financing.
Pakistan stands at number 15 in this list of high-risk states, alongside war-ridden countries. UK’s “Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2021” came into force in Britain in March 2021, with the aforementioned list being released following developments post-Brexit.
Pakistan is already on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list due to money laundering. The FATF will review its progress in June this year and decide whether the country has done enough to exit the list.
