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Customs officials in Constance (photo from September 2019): more coordination between the federal and state governments needed
Photo: Björn Trotsky / imago images
Germany still has room for improvement in combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
This was announced by the international working group against money laundering, the so-called Financial Action Task Force (FATF), on Friday.
The Federal Republic has taken positive steps in the last five years, such as improving coordination between the federal and state governments and increasing the staffing of the most important institutions.
However, significant improvements are still needed in certain areas.
This includes, for example, effective supervision of the private sector, especially the non-financial sector.
Access to information on beneficial ownership should also be improved.
In addition, money laundering investigations and prosecutions should be prioritized.
The FATF is the most important international body for combating and preventing money laundering, terrorist financing and nuclear weapons financing.
At the same time, the FATF promotes the worldwide dissemination of these standards and monitors their implementation in its member states.
Delegates from over 200 countries have discussed these topics in Berlin over the past four days.
reforms in Pakistan
Meanwhile, Pakistan can hope to be removed from a list of countries that are not doing enough to counter terrorist financing.
"Pakistan has demonstrated that it is now pursuing terrorist financing and is investigating and prosecuting senior leaders of UN-designated terrorist groups," said the panel's president, Marcus Pleyer.
Pakistan has now implemented all 34 required measures.
The FATF now wants to send an experienced team to the South Asian nuclear power to examine the implementation of the reforms.
"The country will be removed from the list if it successfully passes the on-site visit," Pleyer said.
In 2018, the FATF put Pakistan on the “grey” watch list.
In 2020, the country imposed sanctions on several extremist groups and their leaders.
Those affected included high-ranking members of the militant Islamist Taliban, the Al Qaeda terrorist network and the Islamic State terrorist militia.
In the past, several countries have accused Pakistan of doing too little in the fight against terrorism.
Pakistan itself also suffered from massive violence by extremist groups.
mic/dpa-AFX
