Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010

2. Definitions.-In this Ordinance, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-
(a) “attachment” means prohibition of transfer, conversion, disposition or movement of property by an order issued under section 8; (c) “CTR” means report on currency transactions exceeding such amount as may be specified by the National Executive Committee; (d) “Court” means the Court specified under section 20 (e) “Director General” means the Director General of FMU appointed under section 6; (f) “financial institutions” includes any institution carrying on any or more of the as listed in section 2(f). (g) “fiscal offence” means an offence punishable under the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 (XLIX of 2001), the Federal Excise Act, 2005, the Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969), the Sales Tax Act, 1990 and any other law as the Federal Government may notify in this behalf; (h) “FMU” means the Financial Monitoring Unit established under section 6;

(i) “foreign serious offence” means an offence – (i) against the law of a foreign State stated in a certificate issued by, or on behalf of, the government of that foreign State; and (ii) which, had it occurred in Pakistan, would have constituted a predicate offence; (j) “investigating or prosecuting agency” means the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) or any other law enforcement agency as may be notified by the Federal Government for the investigation or prosecution of a predicate offence; (l) “investigating officer” means the officer nominated or appointed under section 24; (m) “National Executive Committee” means the National Executive Committee constituted under section 5;

(n) “offence of money laundering” has the meaning as defined in section 3; (o) “person" means an individual, a firm, an entity, an association or a body of individuals, whether incorporated or not, a company and every other juridical person. (q) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Ordinance; (r) “proceeds of crime” means any property derived or obtained directly or indirectly by any person from the commission of a predicate offence or a foreign serious offence; (s) “property” means property or assets of any description, whether corporeal or incorporeal, movable or immovable, tangible or intangible, and includes deeds and instruments evidencing title to, or interest in, such property or assets, including cash and monetary instruments, wherever located;

(t) “predicate offence” means an offence specified in the Schedule to this Ordinance having nexus with money laundering, but does not include fiscal offence; (u) “record” includes the records maintained in the form of books or stored in a computer or any electronic device, or such other form as may be prescribed; (y) “Suspicious Transactions Report” means the report on suspicious accounts transactions specified under section 7; and (z) “transfer” means sale, lease, purchase, mortgage, pledge, gift, loan, or any other form of transfer of right, title, possession or lien.

3. Offence of money laundering.– A person shall be guilty of offence of money laundering, if the person: (a) acquires, converts, possesses or transfers property, knowing or having reason to believe that such property is proceeds of crime; or
(b) renders assistance to another person for the acquisition, conversion, possession or transfer of, or for concealing or disguising the true nature, origin, location, disposition, movement or ownership of property, knowing or having reason to believe that such property is proceeds of crime, (c) holds or possesses on behalf of any other person any property knowing or having reason to believe that such property is proceeds of crime or (d) participates in, associates, conspires to commit, attempts to commit, aids, abets, facilitates or counsels the commission of the acts specified in clauses (a), (b) and (c).

4. Punishment for money laundering.-Whoever commits the offence of money laundering shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine which may extend to one million rupees and shall also be liable to forfeiture of property involved in the money laundering.

Provided that the aforesaid fine may extend to five million rupees in case of a company and every director, officer or employee of the company found guilty under this section shall also be punishable under this section.

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 who 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 supervision and control 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 Ordinance; (b) to analyse the Suspicious Transaction Reports and CTRs and in that respect the FMU may call for record and information from any agency in Pakistan (with the exception of income tax information) concerning the person in question. All such agencies 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 (k) 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 authorised to establish necessary analytic software and computer equipment to effectively search the data base, 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 and appropriate law enforcement authorities in other countries and to share and request information and documents; (f) to represent Pakistan at all international and regional organisations and groupings of financial intelligence units and other international groups and forums which address the offence of money laundering 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 in Pakistan; (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 report 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 Ordinance, 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 Ordinance.

(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, order freezing of such property, for a maximum period of fifteen days, in any manner that he may deem fit in the circumstances.

7. Procedure and manner of furnishing information by the financial institutions.- (1) Every financial institution shall file with the FMU, to the extent and in the manner prescribed by the FMU, Suspicious Transaction Report conducted or attempted by, at or through that financial institution if the financial institution knows, suspects, or has reason to suspect that the transaction (or a pattern of transactions of which the transaction is a part): (a) involves funds derived from illegal activities or is intended or conducted in order to hide or disguise proceeds of crime; (b) is designed to evade any requirements of this section; or (c) has no apparent lawful purpose after examining the available facts, including the background and possible purpose of the transaction, (d) involves financing of terrorism;

Provided that Suspicious Transaction Report shall be filed by the financial institution with the FMU immediately, but not later than seven working days after forming that suspicion.(2) Any other government agency, autonomous body or regulatory authority may share intelligence or report their suspicious within the meaning of suspicious transaction report or CTR to FMU in normal course of their business and the protection provided under section 12 shall be available to such agency, body or authority. (3) All CTRs shall, to the extent and in the manner prescribed by the FMU, be filed by the financial institutions with the FMU immediately, but not later than seven working days, after the respective currency transaction.

(4) Every financial institution shall keep and maintain a record of all Suspicious Transactions Reports and CTRs filed by it for a period of five years after reporting of transaction under sub-sections (1), (2) and (3). (5) The provisions of this section shall have effect notwithstanding any obligation as to secrecy or other restriction on the disclosure of information imposed by any other law or written document. (6) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, any Suspicious Transactions Reports required to be submitted by any person or entity to any investigating and prosecuting agencies shall, on the commencement of this Ordinance, be solely and exclusively submitted to FMU to the exclusion of all others.

18. Retention of records.- (1) Where any record has been seized under section 14 or section 15 and the investigating officer has reason to believe that any of such records are required to be retained for an inquiry under this Ordinance, he may retain such records for a period not exceeding sixty days from the time the record was seized. (2) The person, from whom records were seized, shall be entitled to obtain copies of records retained under sub-section (1). (3) On the expiry of the period specified under sub-section (1), the records shall be returned to the person from whom such records were seized unless the Court permits retention of such records beyond the said period. (4) The Court before authorizing the retention of such records beyond the period mentioned in sub-section (1) shall satisfy itself that the records were required for the purposes of investigation under section 9. (5) After passing of an order of forfeiture under sub-section (6) of section 9, the Court shall direct the release of the records to the person from whom such records were seized.

25. Officers to assist in inquiry, etc.-The officers of the Federal Government, Provincial Government and local authorities, financial institutions are hereby empowered to assist the investigating officers and agencies and other authorities in the enforcement of this Act.

33. Liability for failure to file Suspicious Transaction Report and for providing false information.-(1) Whoever willfully fails to comply with the suspicious transaction reporting requirement as provided in section 7 or give false information shall be liable for imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine which may extend to one hundred thousand rupees or both.
(2) In the case of the conviction of a financial institution, the SBP or SECP, whosoever is the regulator, may also revoke its licence or take such other administrative action, as it deems appropriate.

34. Disclosure of information. - (1) The directors, officers, employees and agents of any financial institution, non-financial business or profession or intermediary which report a suspicious transaction or CTR pursuant to this Act or any other authority, are prohibited from notifying any person involved in the transaction that the transaction has been reported. (2) A violation of the sub-section (1) is a criminal offence and shall be punishable by a maximum term of three years imprisonment or a fine of rupees one hundred thousand or both. (3) Any confidential information furnished by a financial institution, non-financial business and profession, intermediary or any other person under or pursuant to the provisions of this Act, shall, as far as possible, be kept confidential by the FMU, investigation agency or officer as the case may be.

37. Offences by companies.-(1) Where a person committing a contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or of any rule, direction, or order made hereunder is a company, every person who, at the time the contravention was committed, was responsible for such contravention in the conduct of the business of company shall be deemed to be guilty of the contravention and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly:

Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to punishment if he proves that the contravention took place without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent such contravention. (2) Notwithstanding anything in sub-section (1) where a contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or of any rule, direction or order made hereunder has been committed by a company and it is proved that the contravention has taken place with the consent, connivance or knowledge of any director, manager, secretary or other officer of any company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of the contravention and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. Explanation.- For the purposes of this section the expression “director” in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.

39. Ordinance to have overriding effect.- (1) Subject to sub-section (2), the provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent contained in any other law for the time being in force. (2) The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, the Control of Narcotics Substances Act, 1997, the Anti-terrorism Act, 1997 and the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.

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