6
Financial Monitoring Unit
Act: Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010
Section Provisions
ACT VII OF 2010 ACT VII OF 2010 ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING ACT, 2010 An Act to provide for prevention of money laundering [Gazette of Pakistan, Extraordinary, Part I, 27th March 2009] No.F.9 (4)/2010-Legis., dated 27-3-2010.--The following Act of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) received the assent of the President on 26th March, 2010, is hereby published for general information: Whereas, it is expedient to provide for prevention of money laundering combating financing of terrorism and forfeiture of property derived from, or involved in, money laundering or financing of terrorism and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto; It is hereby enacted as follows:-- 6. Financial Monitoring Unit.--(1) The Federal Government shall, by notification in the official Gazette, establish a Financial Monitoring Unit which shall be housed in SBP or at any other place in Pakistan. (2) The FMU shall have independent decision making authority on day-to-day matters coming within its areas of responsibility. (3) A Director General who shall be a financial sector specialist shall be appointed by the Federal Government in consultation with SBP to head FMU and exercise all powers and functions of the FMU subject to the administrative oversight of the General Committee. (4) The FMU shall exercise the following powers and perform the following functions, namely: (a) To receive Suspicious Transactions Reports and CTRs from financial institutions and such non-financial businesses and professions as may be necessary to accomplish the objects of this Act; (b) To analyse the Suspicious Transaction Reports and CTRs and in that respect the FMU may call for record and information from any agency or person in Pakistan (with the exception of income tax information) related to the transaction in question. All such agencies or persons shall be required to promptly provide the requested information; (c) to disseminate, after having considered the reports and having reasonable grounds to suspect, the Suspicious Transaction Reports and any necessary information to the investigating agencies concerned as described in clause (j) of section 2; (d) to create and maintain a data base of all Suspicious Transaction Reports and CTRs, related information and such other materials as the Director General determines are relevant to the work of the FMU and in that respect, the FMU is authorized to establish necessary analytic software and computer equipment to effectively search the database, sort and retrieve information and perform real time linkages with databases of other agencies both in and outside Pakistan as may be required from time to time; (e) To co-operate with financial intelligence units in other countries and to share and request information subject to reciprocal agreements entered in by the Federal Government; (f) to represent Pakistan at all international and regional organizations and groupings of financial intelligence units and other international groups and forums which address the offence of money laundering, financing of terrorism and other related matters; (g) to submit to the National Executive Committee an annual report containing recommendations based upon necessary information and statistics regarding countermeasures which can be taken to combat money laundering and such reports shall provide an overall analysis and evaluation of the Suspicious Transaction Reports limited to details of the investigations and prosecutions that have been or are being conducted in relation to the offence of money laundering or financing of terrorism in Pakistan; and, in this behalf, to call for periodic reports from investigating and prosecuting agencies in such manner as may be specified by FMU; (h) to frame regulations in consultation with SBP and SECP for ensuring receipt of Suspicious Transaction Reports and CTRs from the financial institutions and non-financial businesses and professions with the approval of the National Executive Committee; (i) to recommend to the regulatory authorities of reporting entities to issue regulations as considered necessary in the context of combating money laundering and financing of terrorism in the areas of customer due diligence and ancillary record-keeping; (j) to engage a financial institution or an intermediary or such other non-financial businesses and professions or any of its officers as may be necessary for facilitating implementation of the provisions of this Act, the rules or regulations made hereunder; and (k) to perform all such functions and exercise all such powers as are necessary for, or ancillary to, the attainment of the objects of this Act. (5) On considering the suspicious transaction report or CTR, the FMU may, if deems necessary, convey matters involving regulatory or administrative action to the concerned regulatory or administrative body for appropriate action. (6) Subject to the regulations sanctioned by the National Executive Committee in this behalf, the Director General may, if there appear to be reasonable grounds to believe that any property is involved in money laundering or financing of terrorism, order freezing of such property, for a maximum period of fifteen days, in any manner that he may deem fit in the circumstances.