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Condemning the “brutal terrorist attack” in Pahalgam on April 22, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) — the global money laundering and terror financing watchdog — has noted that such attacks cannot occur “without money and the means to move funds between terrorist supporters”.
Twenty-six people were killed in the attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22. On May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor, striking terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which was followed by three days of military confrontation between India and Pakistan.
While the FATF statement on Monday did not name any country, India had earlier stated its intent to take up terror funding charges against Pakistan to make a case for putting it back in the FATF ‘grey list’.
“Terrorist attacks kill, maim and inspire fear around the world. The FATF notes with grave concern and condemns the brutal terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025. This, and other recent attacks, could not occur without money and the means to move funds between terrorist supporters,” the FATF said.
The FATF’s statement comes after its plenary meeting last week, where Delhi is learnt to have flagged Pakistan’s terror network and the targeted attacks against India.
“In addition to setting out the framework for combating terrorist financing, the FATF has enhanced its focus on the effectiveness of measures countries have put in place. That is how, through our mutual evaluations, we have identified gaps that need to be addressed,” the FATF said.
“The FATF will soon release a comprehensive analysis of terrorist financing, compiling cases provided by our global network. It will also host a webinar to help public and private sectors understand the risks and stay alert to emerging threats,” it added.
Citing a recent statement by its president, Elisa de Anda Madrazo, at the recent ‘No Money for Terror Conference’ in Munich, the FATF said: “No single company, authority, or country can combat this challenge alone. We must be unified against the scourge of global terrorism. Because terrorists need to succeed only once to achieve their goal, while we have to succeed every time to prevent it.”
When Pakistan was taken off the grey list in October 2022, it was kept in the enhanced follow-up category, following ‘partial compliance’ with a recommendation (R.38) related to deficiency regarding the coverage of predicate offences.
The recommendation relates to mutual legal assistance (MLA) for freezing and confiscation of proceeds of crime, mainly when crime has happened elsewhere and proceeds are in the relevant country (Pakistan in this case).
It requires countries to have authority to take expeditious action in response to requests by other countries to identify, freeze and seize property laundered, proceeds from money laundering or predicate offences. Though Pakistan had issued guidelines for MLA, FATF had noted the deficiencies in its scheme for providing assistance to other countries.
