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This study aims to determine the performance of the Pakistani financial intelligence unit in combating money laundering/terrorist financing in local and global contexts.

The study used a qualitative research design. The objective is achieved by critically examining the Anti-money Laundering Act and its relevant clauses concerning the financial monitoring unit and other related legislation. Further, empirical data was collected through semi-structured interviews with chief compliance officers from regulated entities, regulators and premier law enforcer.

The performance of the financial monitoring unit has severe issues concerning the dissemination of financial intelligence due to its time taking behaviour, non-sharing of feedback with reporting agencies, dearth of international cooperation, lack of trained and relevant personnel and financial constraints.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is a maiden study concerning financial monitoring unit in Pakistan.

The study aims to explore the challenges of developing jurisdictions like Pakistan in achieving significant mutual legal assistance from the international community, especially for sharing financial information.

A qualitative approach of semi-structured interviews was adopted to complete the study’s objective. The selection of financial experts for interviews was based on purposive sampling.

This study concluded that Pakistan is facing several challenges, including mistrust of the international community; political disinterestedness and instability; delaying tactics in implementation, capacity and resources of law enforcers; and proximity with hostile neighbours.

Rare studies discussed this issue in the Pakistani context.

This study aims to examine the Financial Action Task Force’s recommendations on virtual currencies (VCs) and how Pakistan has responded to them.

Qualitative document and jurisprudence analysis techniques were used to achieve the study’s goal.

According to this study, VCs are modern FinTech that no jurisdiction can ignore. However, Pakistan has not adopted regulations to govern VCs but comprehensively prohibits their use. It is primarily due to the apathy of various regimes and regulators. Furthermore, the geographical location, undocumented economy and rampant corruption could facilitate the abuse of VCs for money laundering.

This study has provided a significant overview for developing regulations for VCs in Pakistan and other developing jurisdictions with the same characteristics.

This study aims to explore the perception of the compliance officers of the Pakistani financial sector towards the placement of Pakistan on the grey list by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

To achieve this objective, the study adopted a qualitative methodology and conducted semi-structured interviews with different financial institutes and their regulators.

The study found that role of the FATF is lopsided and politically motivated towards Pakistan. Although Pakistan has loopholes like many other countries, its treatment in the FATF is irregular. Therefore, the decision of the greylisting is not purely based on technical compliance, but political preferences are the determinative aspect.

This study provides a holistic overview of the FATF greylisting mechanism and how Pakistan is treated. This might provide both the FATF and Pakistan to revisit their policies.

This study aims to determine the applicability of the placement-layering-integration model of money laundering (ML) in the South Asian context with emphasis on Pakistan by analysing different ML typologies.

This study applied content analysis in the first step. It explored three primary documents concerning ML typologies: Asia Pacific Group’s yearly reports on ML typologies from 2010 to 2021, the mutual evaluation reports and the National Risk Assessment of Pakistan. In the second step, expert interviews were recorded, and NVivo was used for data management and analysis.

This study found primary predicate offences: corruption, tax crimes, smuggling and drug and human trafficking. Pakistani launderers often use traditional typologies, including cash smuggling, round-tripping, multiple bank accounts, investment in real estate (in Pakistan and Dubai) and hawala. However, cybercrimes, cyber laundering and trade-based ML are rising. The politically exposed persons are involved in most of the laundering cases.

Rare studies specifically address the south Asian typologies and the limitations of the placement, layering and integration model. Therefore, there is a need to understand the current typologies used in developing, less regulated and undocumented jurisdictions like Pakistan.

Tax amnesty (TA) schemes are typical in developing countries. Governments’ claims and suppositions are continually heightened; however, this may differ in actuality. This study aims to present an overview of the effectiveness of TA schemes and the problems they raise in implementing anti-money laundering regulations.

This study used a qualitative research design. Content analysis was used to analyse research articles, reports, legal documents and news articles.

Every amnesty offered in Pakistan from 1956 to 2018 failed to meet government expectations. Instead, the continuity resulted in an irrepressible black economy. The black economy’s uncontrollability undermines tax collection and hinders a robust anti-money laundering regime. Significantly, tax holidays with discrepant legislation strengthen evaders, plunderers and launderers. These policies severely impede the implementation of anti-money laundering policies in the financial institutions of Pakistan. Additionally, Pakistan's geopolitical location, circumstance and war against terror cannot afford any policy that provides monetary relaxation to offenders.

There is no concrete evidence to support long-term economic progress through the implementation of amnesty schemes as a revenue collection policy. This study evaluates previous studies and findings to understand the effect of tax amnesties on the financial industry of Pakistan. The findings have practical implications for tax collection authorities, policymakers and international financial bodies.

Previous studies have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of Pakistan’s regular tax amnesties. However, this study discusses the implementation of TA schemes concerning anti-money laundering regulations and customer due diligence by financial institutes and provides suggestions to minimise its negative implications.

This study aims to investigates the challenges faced by Pakistani financial institutes (FIs) and regulators in implementing robust customer due diligence measures.

The study adopted a qualitative technique. Twenty-five semi-structured interviews with chief compliance officers and regulators were conducted.

The study concluded that the main challenges are name screening, obsolete nature and quality of databases and undocumented, unregistered and unregulated portions of the economy and society. In addition, identification and verification of high-profile customers and beneficial owners, lack of specialised staff and cost of compliance are the significant challenges faced by FIs in Pakistan.

The Pakistani financial sector is less researched on anti-money laundering front, especially concerning customer due diligence. Further, the social, cultural and economic norms of the Indian sub-continent are more or less the same. Therefore, the study findings could be generalised to the region.

This study aims to evaluate and investigate the existing process of establishing a banking relationship with politically exposed persons.

This study used qualitative techniques of semi-structured interviews with senior compliance officers of financial institutes in Pakistan.

This study found that the existing mechanism of identification and verification of politically exposed persons (PEPs) is ineffective. Financial institutes face challenges like the quality of name screening data sets, cost of identification and verification, role and control of the regulator, the influence of politically exposed persons, the opaqueness of laws and international connections of the politically exposed persons. Further, financial Institutes are burdened by regulators to perform robust PEP customer due diligence but do not guide and provide the right tools.

This paper aims to find challenges faced by financial institutes before onboarding the PEPs. Further, very limited studies on this topic have been conducted in Pakistani context.

The main aim of this paper is to analyze judicial system of Bangladesh, which comprises all courts and tribunals that performs the delicate task of ensuring rule of law in the society. The paper depicts the history and evolution of the judicial system in Bangladesh from ancient period to present day.

The study is qualitative in nature and based on secondary sources of materials like books, journal articles, government orders, rules, acts, newspaper reports, etc. Relevant literature has also been collected through internet browsing.

The major findings of this paper are: there is a well‐organized court system in Bangladesh which is in fact the replica of the system introduced by British rulers and it is widely accepted in the original Constitution of Bangladesh. The ancient judicial system was not based on rule of law rather on caprice and caste consideration. The executive branch of government always attempts to control the judiciary through different mechanisms, which include the appointment, tenure and discipline of judges from ancient period. Therefore, the independence of judiciary is vulnerable from ancient time to present day and even after separation of the judiciary from the executive (November 2007) the interference of the executive over the judiciary is still continuing.

This paper opens a new window for the policy makers and concerned authorities to take necessary steps for overcoming the existing limitations of judiciary.

The paper will be of interest to legal practitioners, policy makers, members of civil society, and those in the field of judicial system in Bangladesh and some other British colonial common law countries.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a different context for considering issues of financial stability and instability, with reference to economic growth and price stability in particular.

This paper pursued an empirical exploration of six pillars of financial stability, based on a data set for the UK extending from 1985 (Q1) to 2008 (Q2), through the construction of a vector error correction model, including an impulse response function analysis.

The findings show a strong association between the financial and economic stability even in a non-crisis regime. This includes, for example, a strong association exists between the stock market and the real economy; exchange rate appreciation may not provide for long-term real economic growth; inflation does not contribute to real economic growth, both the sensitivity of the economy to yields and a significant lag in transitional effects from financial markets to the real sector; a positive role of credit creation within a non-crisis regime; exchange rate appreciation affects purchasing power; and potential points of linkage between sovereign debt activity and general price levels.

The findings should be considered in the context of a concept of the economy as fundamentally dynamic and subject to complex cumulative processes.

The findings indicate there is a role for state oversight and intervention within a non-crisis regime based on the complexity of possible interactions that may undermine financial and price stability, with consequences for their association with economic growth.

The study provides a new perspective for considering issues of financial stability and instability.