US terror financing case: NBP says victory proves its global sustainability

KARACHI: The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) on Thursday said NBP’s victory in US terror financing case showed that it is maintaining global financial sustainability and complying with the international rules and regulations.

While addressing a briefing, Mehnaz Salar, Head of Legal NBP, said that NBP remained committed to combating financial crime through compliance with local and international laws, regulations and international best practices.

Recently, NBP has won the case entitled Harold Brown Sr., et al vs NBP filed in the United States District Court, Southern District Court, Second Circuit, New York. The case was initiated in 2019 and filed by the 273 families of US soldiers that falsely alleged terrorist financing on NBP. The dismissal of the case has shown that the claim against NBP was without any legal basis, she added.

NBP filed a motion for dismissal of this case and it was vigorously contested through its US attorneys leading to the case against NBP being dismissed in its favor, she said and added that the dismissal of the case against the NBP showed that the claim was without any legal basis.

She said that NBP has always complied with the rules and regulations with regards to Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) related matters.

Replying to a question, she said that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is the regulator of the banking sector and can ask any bank for improvement in the system.

Amjad Imran Head of international banking NBP said that NBP’s local and internal operations are secure and the bank is continually investing massively to improve the overall infrastructure.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022