Reports reveals 'illicit fund' still transferred to UK from Pakistan

The revelation was made by the UK's Treasury and Home Office in its report titled "National Risk Assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing 2020".

The report has mentioned countries like China, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Russia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the top venues from where the most flow of money is processed and routed. 

  "The UK continues to have close economic links to Pakistan, including significant remittance flows between both jurisdictions, which according to estimates equated to approximately $1.7 billion in 2017," read the statement.

"These linkages also enable and disguise illicit funds to be transferred between the UK and Pakistan, including through illegal informal value transfers," the statement said.

"Criminals continue to purchase high value assets, such as real estate, precious gems and jewellery to launder illicit funds which are transferred from Pakistan to the UK and vice versa. This includes proceeds from corruption and drug trafficking. The risk from cash-based money laundering from the UK to Pakistan via smuggled cash and MSBs also persists," it said.

The statement said: "The UK also continues to support Pakistan, including with capacity building assistance, to help Pakistani authorities meet their commitments. Joint operations between the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Pakistani authorities to tackle illicit finance threats have benefitted from good levels of cooperation."

"For example, in December 2019, the NCA negotiated a settlement with a Pakistani national to return funds and property valued at approximately £190 million to Pakistan. This success would not have been possible without the close cooperation between UK and Pakistan law enforcement agencies," it said.