The Emirates Central Bank said it is investigating the largest Pakistani bank to verify whether it violates anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws.

The investigation comes at a time when Pakistan is being examined by a unit in Paris of the Financial Action Task Force, a global financial watchdog, in terms of non-compliance with the global rules of thumb. Money laundering and terrorist financing.

The Financial Working Group is scheduled to take a decision this week on whether to place Pakistan on the list of countries that do not comply with global financial rules, which will entail major sanctions < / p>

The Emirates Central Bank said in a statement yesterday, Wednesday, that it is in contact with the Central Bank of Pakistan to verify the mentioned violations regarding a Pakistani bank in the Emirates.

A spokesman for the bank confirmed to Reuters that the statement referred to Habib Bank Limited, the largest bank in Pakistan.

At the end of last September, the bank’s total assets, which were largely owned by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development and the Government of Pakistan, were 3.1 trillion Pakistani rupees ($ 20.1 billion).

The Emirati central statement added that appropriate control measures will be taken after verifying the inspection results mentioned in the media and making sure that there is a violation of laws and procedures to counter money laundering and combat the financing of terrorism in the UAE .

It was a global report said last week that the regulator of banking services in Pakistan discovered in 2018 irregularities related to the activities of Habib Bank in the Emirates and transactions with clients with political exposure. < / p>

The bank responded to that report by acknowledging monitoring weaknesses in 2017 in its operations in the Emirates in a way that contradicts its approach and standards.

"We have made a change to the approach to control and compliance to ensure that it is in line with international standards," said a statement from Habib Bank.

The Central Bank of Pakistan, the regulator of banking services in the country, has not yet answered questions from Reuters about its communication with the Emirates Central Bank.

Al Habib Bank faced a measure in the United States in 2017 when the New York State Department of Financial Services said it was seeking to fine it up to $ 630 million on the grounds of serious non-compliance with anti-regulation rules. Money laundering and penalties.

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