UK removed Pakistan from ‘High Risk Third Countries’ list: Bilawal

The United Kingdom officially removed the country from its list of “High Risk Third Countries” on Monday.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari announced the “good news” while sharing a letter of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on his twitter handle.

The UK government took the initiative in recognition of the effective measures taken by Pakistan against money laundering and terror financing

"Some good news. The United Kingdom has officially removed Pakistan from its list of ‘High Risk Third Countries’ following our early completion of FATF action plans," tweeted Bilawal.

Some good news. The United Kingdom has officially removed Pakistan from its list of ‘High Risk Third Countries’ following our early completion of FATF action plans. 🇵🇰 🤝 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/clcGHy5771

— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) November 14, 2022

“His Majesty’s Treasury issued an amendment to the UK’s High-Risk Third Countries’ list ON November 14, 2022, through a Statuary Instrument. The amendment removes Pakistan from the list in accordance with the decision taken by the FATF on October 21, 2022,” the official document read.

“The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office recognizes the progress Pakistan has made to improve money laundering and terrorist financing controls,” it further added.

In April 2021, the UK government added Pakistan to the list of undesirable 21 high-risk countries with unsatisfactory money laundering and terrorist financing controls.

This list of 21 countries released by the UK Government replicated the list of countries named by the FATF as high-risk or under increased monitoring. Pakistan shared the list at number 15 with conflict-ridden countries such as Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zimbabwe.