KARACHI, Pakistan: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) rejected the Raast money-laundering claim, saying FATF had neither classified the instant-payment system as a laundering mechanism nor questioned its infrastructure.
The clarification followed a September 3 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) report on professional money laundering, underground banking and hawala networks. The report examines how informal networks can use legitimate banking and payment infrastructure as part of wider transfer arrangements.
FATF does, however, mention Raast in a specific Oman-to-Pakistan case study. The FATF report says an alleged unlicensed remittance network exploited lower-cost channels in destination countries, including fee-free transfers to Pakistan through systems such as Raast.
The case, investigated by the Central Bank of Oman, involved a WhatsApp group advertising foreign-exchange and remittance services. Omani authorities identified six suspected members of the network and transaction flows of about USD 72,293 over one year, according to FATF.
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SBP said this did not mean Raast itself had been designated a money-laundering mechanism. It described Raast as a legitimate domestic payment channel and said the system does not currently facilitate cross-border transfers.
The central bank said it would continue to monitor Pakistan’s payment infrastructure and strengthen safeguards in line with international standards.
