ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, May 12 (ANI) — The entity[“organization”,”International Monetary Fund”,”International financial organization”] has called on Pakistan to take swift and stringent action against trade-based money laundering ahead of the federal budget for fiscal year 2026-27, according to a report by entity[“organization”,”Samaa TV”,”Pakistan”].
The report said the IMF raised concerns over suspicious financial activities across multiple sectors, including trade, banking, real estate, and non-financial businesses. The organization urged the Pakistani government to curb money laundering practices allegedly being carried out through trade channels during the budget preparation process.
The IMF also highlighted gaps in the system for sharing beneficial ownership information and stressed the need to strengthen financial oversight mechanisms.
According to the report, the IMF identified weaknesses in monitoring suspicious transactions across banks, non-financial businesses, and other key sectors, and called for an increase in suspicious transaction reporting from non-financial entities.
Samaa TV reported that the IMF expressed particular concern over low levels of reporting of suspicious financial activity in the real estate sector, describing the performance of the Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions framework as unsatisfactory.
Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue established the framework to oversee real estate transactions, with suspicious activity reports forwarded to the Financial Monitoring Unit.
The report added that the Federal Board of Revenue has intensified investigations into alleged undeclared income, including raids on housing societies, as part of efforts to identify hidden wealth and improve compliance in the property sector.
According to Samaa TV, an IMF delegation is expected to arrive in Pakistan to finalize proposals for the upcoming federal budget.
Discussions with Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance are scheduled to begin Wednesday and are expected to continue for approximately one week.
The talks are expected to focus on tax revenue targets, fiscal planning, economic strategy, development spending, and measures aimed at aligning government expenditures with budget objectives. (ANI)
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