China withdrew its support for Pakistan against grey listing in Financial Action Task Force because it had needed at least three members to vote in the favor to elect the vice chair of FATF, it is learnt. According to the sources, if the three members had not voted in favor of China, it could not get its vice president of FTAF elected. They said this is why China withdrew its support for Pakistan against gray listing in FTAF.
The sources said that China has already connived this situation to Pakistan. However, the sources said that China had played the role for getting supportive vote of Singapore in favor of Pakistan to avoid putting it in Grey List of FTAF. At the FATF plenary meeting, the US and some of its European allies were in favor of placing Pakistan on the Grey List. However, Pakistan has been given time till June to prepare an action plan to take action against terror groups following which the FATF would take a call on whether or not to name it on its terror-financing watch list.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was set up in 1989 with the primary goal of setting standards to combat money laundering, but in 2001 its mandate was expanded to include countering terror-financing. It can take action such as financial restrictions against any country.