Gray-list lurks
With around 15 anti-money laundering bills pending in the House, Nepal will have a tough time at the plenary of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), slated for July 9-14 in Vancouver.
My suggestion to ministers to pass the bills has gone in vain. The government should have, at the least, introduced an ordinance... The FATF gives scores based on implementation and effectiveness of measures to combat money-laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing. But we are poor on this front... It would be a miracle if we managed to avoid gray-listing. Probes into Lalita Niwas land-grab and Bhutanese refugee scam might help, but won’t be enough.
If gray-listed, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund will hesitate to help us. If we land on the black list, the WB, IMF and ADB will stop engaging with us, hampering our economy. It’s high time to pass the bills.
The author is former governor
