Devastating effects of money laundering on economy are hard to count. It damages not only the financial institutions directly but also country's productive activities in various sectors of economy. Measures are needed but these should not be harmful for the honest businessmen.
This was the crux of speeches delivered at an awareness session on "Money Laundering" jointly organized by the LCCI and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) here at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Additional Director General FIA Basharat Mahmood Shahzad, LCCI President Almas Hyder, Senior Vice President Khawaja Shahzad Nasir, Vice President Faheem-ur-Rehman Saigal, former office bearers spoke on the occasion.
Basharat Mahmood Shahzad said that money laundering is a process through which criminal conceal the origin of money earned through illegal means and make it appear as legitimate by performing a number of complex transactions.
He said that money laundering is conducted to conceal illegal activities, quick disposal of cash in bulk, to conceal illegal resource of income, to make it look legal, to conceal ownership and to use it for pleasure/extension of network. He said that to ensure external and internal security of the country we have to keep check on movement of money.
The FIA Additional Director General said that proceed of crime, financial transaction, knowledge and concealment are the major elements of money laundering. He said that unsubstantiated wealth, large amount of cash, irregular work/travel patterns, suspicious banking and no apparent job are common indicators of money laundering.
He informed the participants that FIA is taking strict measures to control money laundering through information, border detections, undercover operations and surveillance measures. He also threw light on the relevant laws like Anti Money Laundering Act, 2010, Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947, Section 109, 406, 409, 419, 420, 468, 471 of Pakistan Penal Code, Prevention of Corruption Act, Customs Act, 1969 and NAB Ordinance. He said that government is going to introduce new act in this regard as well. "Money laundering is a transactional crime and is the root cause of many systemic economic, social and political problems of Pakistan", he added.
LCCI President Almas Hyder said that business community should be given awareness so that they can understand it properly. He said that businessmen are facing a serious issue in sending payments abroad to the suppliers especially in case of small consignments. They do not accept L/Cs for small payments owing to high banking charges rather they ask for transfers of funds through TTs. "We need to know the mechanism to avoid this problem while carrying on with our normal business terms with foreign companies", he said.
Similarly, during travelling abroad, the businessmen have to carry sufficient amount of foreign currency for business purposes. We want to know if there is any distinction between a business traveler and a normal traveler for carrying certain amount of foreign currency", the LCCI President added.
LCCI Senior Vice President Khawaja Shahzad Nasir and Vice President Faheem-ur-Rehman Saigal said that government has to keep a check on supply of dollars in the country because in case of shortage, the dollar price goes up and it causes inflation. The procedure of sending payments to the suppliers through banks has become overly complicated due to various checks and balances that have been put in place by the government to maintain the desired supply of dollars in the country. There should be a fine balance in this regard so that the businesses are not unnecessarily burdened, they added.
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