The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has rejected recent social media claims suggesting that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) identified Raast as a channel for money laundering. The central bank said the reports are misleading and do not accurately represent the findings contained in the FATF report.
According to the SBP, the FATF report does not identify Raast as a money-laundering mechanism and does not raise concerns regarding the integrity of Pakistan’s Raast payment infrastructure. Instead, the report discusses the potential misuse of formal banking and payment channels by underground banking and hawala networks across different countries and jurisdictions.
The central bank clarified that Raast was referenced in the report only as Pakistan’s legitimate domestic payment channel. SBP further stated that Raast is used exclusively for domestic payments and transfers and does not currently facilitate cross-border transactions.
SBP also reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining the integrity of Pakistan’s payment systems and said it continues to monitor and strengthen safeguards in line with international standards. The clarification comes as Raast continues to serve as a key component of Pakistan’s digital payments infrastructure.
The clarification is intended to distinguish the FATF report’s discussion of potential risks involving formal payment channels from any claim that Raast itself has been identified as a money-laundering mechanism. SBP’s statement maintains that there are no such findings or integrity concerns regarding the Raast infrastructure in the report.
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