ISLAMABAD  – The Ministry of Finance has formulated the ‘Anti-Money Laundering (amendment) Bill’ which would be placed before the parliament on January 23 for approval.

According to sources, the proposed bill will increase the punishment of illegal transfer of money from a minimum of three years to maximum of 10 years.

Moreover, the fine imposed on money launderers and their facilitators will be increased from Rs50 lakh to Rs5 crore, if the bill gets approval.

Furthermore, the bill might also enact confiscation of properties of money launderers for up to six months according to directives of the concerned authorities.

To further curb the illegal money transactions and Hawala/Hundi businesses, money launderers would not be able to acquire bail from the courts of law.

It is also being thought that Islamabad, in order to comply with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards and its removal from the organisation’s grey-list, has considered the bill ‘essential’ if they are to increase investment and foreign businesses in the country.

Pakistan has been trying to implement standards set by the FATF, an inter-governmental organisation that underpins the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.