Pakistan has a reputation as the state sponsor of terror.&nbsp;The country now has a new feather in its cap - it leads the pack of countries washing dirty money in Britain.&nbsp;Pakistan has been funnelling terror funds into the UK, according to Britain's investigation.

A report released by the UK treasury department called the "national risk assessment of money laundering and terror financing - 2020".

It report illustrates how the United Kingdom has become a hub for Pakistan's dirty money and how criminals and terrorists exploit the loopholes in the British financial system.

In page 35, there is a section on Pakistan. It describes how the UK's close economic links with Pakistan is hurting the country.

The report says the economic links is enabling the transfer of illicit funds in disguise - that's code for black money.

The British report said Pakistan criminals are using the routes to buy high-value assets like real estate, precious gems and jewellery to launder money.

The report says these are proceeds from corruption and drug trafficking as criminals siphon dirty money into the UK then they buy assets like jewels and property turning the illicit cash into legitimate assets.

Pakistanis are however&nbsp;not the only ones. The report names other countries and regions like China, Hong Kong, and the UAE.

The report shows how the UK's financial system is flawed as it helps those with black money.

The biggest problem is how cash is transferred. In the UK, money remittance and foreign exchange shops on the streets especially in areas with a higher number of immigrants.

Immigrants use these shops to send money home but, some shops reportedly also facilitate drug trade and violent crime.

Background checks for fund transfers is non-existent, according to one claim these shops "rarely ask for proof of address and source of funds".

It is not just small shops even the big banks in the UK have been accused of enabling money laundering. Reuters reported that banks like HSBC, Barclays and Standard Chartered are under scrutiny.

They allegedly transferred more than $2 trillion worth of suspect funds in nearly two decades. The information came out when a cache of documents was leaked which makes the United Kingdom a hub for dirty cash and the money trail leads to criminals, gangs, drug traffickers and terrorists.

Britain has opened its banks and financial institutions to countries like Pakistan, however, most countries don't do business with Pakistan or give it loans. Foreign investors also keep their distance, even China wants guarantees from Pakistan for new loans.

Pakistan has a reputation as the state sponsor of terror. The country now has a new feather in its cap - it leads the pack of countries washing dirty money in Britain.

Pakistan has a reputation as the state sponsor of terror. The country now has a new feather in its cap - it leads the pack of countries washing dirty money in Britain. Pakistan has been funnelling terror funds into the UK, according to Britain's investigation. A report released by the UK treasury department called the "national risk assessment of money laundering and terror financing - 2020". It report illustrates how the United Kingdom has become a hub for Pakistan's dirty money and how criminals and terrorists exploit the loopholes in the British financial system. In page 35, there is a section on Pakistan. It describes how the UK's close economic links with Pakistan is hurting the country. The report says the economic links is enabling the transfer of illicit funds in disguise - that's code for black money. The British report said Pakistan criminals are using the routes to buy high-value assets like real estate, precious gems and jewellery to launder money. The report says these are proceeds from corruption and drug trafficking as criminals siphon dirty money into the UK then they buy assets like jewels and property turning the illicit cash into legitimate assets. Pakistanis are however not the only ones. The report names other countries and regions like China, Hong Kong, and the UAE. The report shows how the UK's financial system is flawed as it helps those with black money. The biggest problem is how cash is transferred. In the UK, money remittance and foreign exchange shops on the streets especially in areas with a higher number of immigrants. Immigrants use these shops to send money home but, some shops reportedly also facilitate drug trade and violent crime. Background checks for fund transfers is non-existent, according to one claim these shops "rarely ask for proof of address and source of funds". It is not just small shops even the big banks in the UK have been accused of enabling money laundering. Reuters reported that banks like HSBC, Barclays and Standard Chartered are under scrutiny. They allegedly transferred more than $2 trillion worth of suspect funds in nearly two decades. The information came out when a cache of documents was leaked which makes the United Kingdom a hub for dirty cash and the money trail leads to criminals, gangs, drug traffickers and terrorists. Britain has opened its banks and financial institutions to countries like Pakistan, however, most countries don't do business with Pakistan or give it loans. Foreign investors also keep their distance, even China wants guarantees from Pakistan for new loans.

Terror code: How UK has become hub for Pakistan's dirty money

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif was sent to jail on Tuesday in a money laundering case.

Shehbaz, the younger brother of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on September 28 after a court here rejected his bail application in the Rs 700 crores money laundering case.

Next day, the 69-year-old former chief minister of Punjab province was sent on a physical remand by an accountability court.

On Tuesday, an accountability court of Lahore rejected the NAB's plea seeking further extension to his physical remand. 
Shehbaz told the court that NAB didn't ask any questions about money laundering during his three weeks detention.

Talking to reporters, Shehbaz criticised the Imran Khan government for arresting Mohammad Safdar, son-in-law of Nawaz Sharif, for raising slogans in giving respect to the ballot.

Safdar was on Monday briefly arrested from his hotel room in Karachi, a day after he staged a protest at the tomb of the country's founder and attended a joint opposition rally.

Shehbaz also termed unholy alliance of Imran Khan and NAB behind political victimisation of opposition leaders. He has been shifted to Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore.

Maryam Nawaz, daughter of Nawaz Sharif, had said that Shehbaz had been arrested only because he did not leave his elder brother (Nawaz).

Prime Minister Khan recently said the Opposition leaders should be convicted in cases against them. He was complaining about delay in such cases.

Shehbaz, who has denied any wrongdoing, was arrested just ahead of the planned protests by his party - the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) - to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Khan.

The political temperature is high in the country since the 11 opposition parties formed an alliance - Pakistan Democratic Movement - against the army's involvement in politics.

Nawaz Sharif, living in London since November last year after he was allowed by the courts and the government to go there for a period of eight weeks for medical treatment, has accused army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and spy agency ISI head Lt Gen Faiz Hameed for interfering in the elections of 2018 and installing Imran Khan's "puppet government".

The powerful Army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 70 plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in the matters of security and foreign policy.&nbsp;

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif was sent to jail on Tuesday in a money laundering case. Shehbaz, the younger brother of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on September 28 after a court here rejected his bail application in the Rs 700 crores money laundering case.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif was sent to jail on Tuesday in a money laundering case. Shehbaz, the younger brother of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on September 28 after a court here rejected his bail application in the Rs 700 crores money laundering case. Next day, the 69-year-old former chief minister of Punjab province was sent on a physical remand by an accountability court. On Tuesday, an accountability court of Lahore rejected the NAB's plea seeking further extension to his physical remand. Shehbaz told the court that NAB didn't ask any questions about money laundering during his three weeks detention. Talking to reporters, Shehbaz criticised the Imran Khan government for arresting Mohammad Safdar, son-in-law of Nawaz Sharif, for raising slogans in giving respect to the ballot. Safdar was on Monday briefly arrested from his hotel room in Karachi, a day after he staged a protest at the tomb of the country's founder and attended a joint opposition rally. Shehbaz also termed unholy alliance of Imran Khan and NAB behind political victimisation of opposition leaders. He has been shifted to Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore. Maryam Nawaz, daughter of Nawaz Sharif, had said that Shehbaz had been arrested only because he did not leave his elder brother (Nawaz). Prime Minister Khan recently said the Opposition leaders should be convicted in cases against them. He was complaining about delay in such cases. Shehbaz, who has denied any wrongdoing, was arrested just ahead of the planned protests by his party - the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) - to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Khan. The political temperature is high in the country since the 11 opposition parties formed an alliance - Pakistan Democratic Movement - against the army's involvement in politics. Nawaz Sharif, living in London since November last year after he was allowed by the courts and the government to go there for a period of eight weeks for medical treatment, has accused army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and spy agency ISI head Lt Gen Faiz Hameed for interfering in the elections of 2018 and installing Imran Khan's "puppet government". The powerful Army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 70 plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in the matters of security and foreign policy.

Shehbaz Sharif sent to jail in money laundering case

The United Arab Emirates' central bank is investigating Pakistan's largest bank to ascertain if it violated anti-money- laundering and terrorism-financing laws, the regulator said on Wednesday.

The inquiry comes as Pakistan is under examination by a Paris unit of the Financial Action Task Force, a global financial watchdog, for not adequately complying with global regulations on money laundering and terrorism financing.

The FATF will decide this week whether to put Pakistan on a list of countries on non-compliant with global financial regulations, which would carry significant sanctions.

The Central Bank of UAE (CBAUE) said in a statement on Wednesday that it was in "close contact" with Pakistan's banking regulator to verify reported irregularities of a Pakistani bank in UAE.

A spokeswoman of the CBAUE confirmed to Reuters that the statement referred to Habib Bank Ltd (HBL), Pakistan's largest bank.

The bank, which is largely owned by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development and Pakistan government, had total assets of 3.1 trillion Pakistani rupees ($20.1 billion) at the end of September 2019.

The statement by the UAE banking regulator added it "will take appropriate regulatory action once we have verified the findings reported in the media to confirm if there was any violation to UAE’s Anti-Money Laundering and Combat of Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) laws and procedures."

In a report last week, Bloomberg said that Pakistan's banking regulator in 2018 had found irregularities in HBL's UAE operations and dealings with politically exposed clients.

HBL responded to that report by admitting that a "few weaknesses" were identified in 2017 in its UAE operations that contravened its processes and standards.

"We have transformed our control and compliance process to ensure that they are in line with international standards," an HBL statement said.

The State Bank of Pakistan, the country's banking regulator, did not immediately respond to queries by Reuters on its communication with UAE's regulator.

HBL also faced action in the United States in 2017 when the New York State Department of Financial Services said it was seeking to fine HBL up to $630 million for "grave" compliance failures on anti-money laundering and sanctions rules. The bank agreed to pay $225 million to settle enforcement action. [D-REUTERSNEWS-T004/I15592cf0945b11e783dfe5c720cc2544]

In a filing to Pakistan Stock Exchange on Monday the bank said it would complete a "voluntary closure" of its U.S. operations in coordination with the New York State banking regulator on or before March 31.

(1 USD = 154 Pakistani rupees) 
 
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The United Arab Emirates' central bank is investigating Pakistan's largest bank to ascertain if it violated anti-money- laundering and terrorism-financing laws, the regulator said on Wednesday.

The United Arab Emirates' central bank is investigating Pakistan's largest bank to ascertain if it violated anti-money- laundering and terrorism-financing laws, the regulator said on Wednesday. The inquiry comes as Pakistan is under examination by a Paris unit of the Financial Action Task Force, a global financial watchdog, for not adequately complying with global regulations on money laundering and terrorism financing. The FATF will decide this week whether to put Pakistan on a list of countries on non-compliant with global financial regulations, which would carry significant sanctions. The Central Bank of UAE (CBAUE) said in a statement on Wednesday that it was in "close contact" with Pakistan's banking regulator to verify reported irregularities of a Pakistani bank in UAE. A spokeswoman of the CBAUE confirmed to Reuters that the statement referred to Habib Bank Ltd (HBL), Pakistan's largest bank. The bank, which is largely owned by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development and Pakistan government, had total assets of 3.1 trillion Pakistani rupees ($20.1 billion) at the end of September 2019. The statement by the UAE banking regulator added it "will take appropriate regulatory action once we have verified the findings reported in the media to confirm if there was any violation to UAE’s Anti-Money Laundering and Combat of Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) laws and procedures." In a report last week, Bloomberg said that Pakistan's banking regulator in 2018 had found irregularities in HBL's UAE operations and dealings with politically exposed clients. HBL responded to that report by admitting that a "few weaknesses" were identified in 2017 in its UAE operations that contravened its processes and standards. "We have transformed our control and compliance process to ensure that they are in line with international standards," an HBL statement said. The State Bank of Pakistan, the country's banking regulator, did not immediately respond to queries by Reuters on its communication with UAE's regulator. HBL also faced action in the United States in 2017 when the New York State Department of Financial Services said it was seeking to fine HBL up to $630 million for "grave" compliance failures on anti-money laundering and sanctions rules. The bank agreed to pay $225 million to settle enforcement action. [D-REUTERSNEWS-T004/I15592cf0945b11e783dfe5c720cc2544] In a filing to Pakistan Stock Exchange on Monday the bank said it would complete a "voluntary closure" of its U.S. operations in coordination with the New York State banking regulator on or before March 31. (1 USD = 154 Pakistani rupees)

UAE regulator to investigate Pakistan bank for money laundering