Government of Pakistan

Revenue Division
Federal Board of Revenue
*****

C.No.3(7) L&P/2023 Islamabad, 221th March, 2023.

Customs General Order No. 01 of 2023

Subject: Guidelines for Strengthening Sustainability & Effectiveness of Anti-Money

Laundering (AML)/Counter Financing Terrorism (CFT)_ Mechanism of
Pakistan Customs

In supersession of the Office Order No 01/2019 issued vide C.No.1(3) E&C/2019

dated 10th April 2019, the Federal Board of Revenue is pleased to direct that the following
guidelines shall be observed by the various Customs formations in relation to cases made out
against persons on account of predicate offences, as listed in Schedule-I of the Anti-Money
Laundering Act, 2010, under the Customs Act, 1969:-

1. Definitions:-

"Goods" shall have the same meaning as defined in the Customs Act, 1969;
"Law Enforcement Agency" means all investigation and prosecution agencies
specified or notified under section 2(xviii) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010
(AMLA ,2010);

"Foreign Jurisdiction" means a foreign country with which Pakistan has a bilateral
arrangement for mutual legal assistance, including assistance in AML/ CFT cases;

"Mutual Legal Assistance" shall have the meaning assigned to it under Mutual Legal
Assistance (Criminal Matters) Act, 2020;

"Seizure" shall have the same meaning as defined in section 2 of the Customs Act,
1969; and

"Referral" means the official communication of a case of seizure of goods along with
all relevant documents available with the seizing officer to Counter Terrorism
Department (CTD) for the purpose of ascertaining links to Terrorism Financing (TF)
and accordingly considering the initiation of investigation and prosecution under Anti-
Terrorism Act, 1997.

2. Referrals to Counter Terrorism Department (CTD).- (1) All cases of currency seizure,
emanating from smuggling, misdeclaration or non-declaration of currency, bearer negotiable
instruments, gold, jewelry, precious metals, gemstones, narcotics, psychotropic substances, or
antiques under the relevant provision(s) of the Customs Act, 1969, in which, based on the scrutiny
of documents, record, and or statements, one or more of the following criteria is/are met, shall be
referred on prescribed format (Annexure-A) to the CTD of the concerned province under
intimation to the Director, Directorate of Cross Border Currency Movement (CBCM):
 The accused is member of any of the UN designated entities or proscribed organizations
or individuals under the Anti-Terrorism Act,1997;
The accused is hit by the UN Security Council Resolutions related to countering
terrorism and CFT (such as UNSCR 1373, 1949, 1267 etc.);
Intelligence / tip-off request for Mutual Legal Assistance or request for cooperation
from a Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) in Pakistan or from a foreign jurisdiction is
communicated to the Customs officer on duty, on the ground that the smuggling of the
seized goods is meant for terrorism financing (TF);
In case of cash, the amount is not consistent with the accused's purpose, objective and
stated activities;

Receipt of large amounts of cash from unexplained sources;

The accused is a close relative of a designated/ proscribed individual and is also

suspected to be associated with the business of the designated/ proscribed individual
by way of financial or other assistance;

The accused declares a proscribed person as a guarantor / nominee of the individual;

Media (Broadcast/ Print/ Social) news highlights involvement of the accused in

providing financial assistance to designated/ proscribed individual or entity;

The accused appears to have conducted cash / gold smuggling on behalf of or at the
direction of a designated/ proscribed individual; and

During the investigation under the Customs Act, 1969 of a predicate offence under
AMLA, 2010 the investigating officer shall remain vigilant to the possibility of TF
element in the case and if there is reason to believe that the accused is involved in TF,
the case may be referred to CTD for parallel investigation into the TF element.

All cases of seizure of currency, bearer negotiable instruments, gold, precious

stones and metals, other than the above, may be communicated on the prescribed format
(Annexure-B) for information and record of CTD, under intimation to the Directorate of CBCM,
for immediate or future use by CTD.

Customs and CTD shall continue to use the existing inter-agency coordination
mechanism, including the Border Task Force (BTF) forum, for mutual information sharing,
cooperation and coordination against organized crimes, including Money Laundering and
Terrorism Financing.

During the investigation of predicate offences, the investigating officer of Customs

will keep the Check-List (Annexure-C) in view while considering whether a case qualifies to be
referred to CTD or not.

3. Referral of Cases to the Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation,

(Customs) for investigation under AMLA, 2010.- (1) In case(s), where a Collectorate /
Directorate of Pakistan Customs, makes a seizure, lodges an FIR or frames a contravention case
which fulfills any of the following criteria, shall be referred to the respective Regional Directorate
of the Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation (Customs), under intimation to the
Directorate of CBCM, for parallel ML investigation under the AMLA, 2010,namely:-
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 the revenue loss involved is Rs.50 million or above;

scrutiny of documents and data, initial investigation, or Mutual Legal Assistance

(MLA) request, reveals that the accused/respondents previously also indulged in
similar serious acts of predicate offences or money laundering, irrespective of
whether they were convicted for such offence or not;

there is reason to believe that the accused/respondent(s) have prima facie

committed the offence of money laundering, or have links with national or trans-
national crimes related to money laundering, and therefore warrant an in-depth
investigation under AMLA, 2010; and

in the light of the check list under this CGO, the investigating officer is of the
considered opinion that the case warrants action under AMLA, 2010 and needs to
be referred to the Directorate General of I&I, (Customs) for investigation under
AMLA, 2010:

Provided that any such action shall be initiated only after approval of concerned
Collector / Director.

All record, statements and evidences that may be relevant for investigation under
AMLA, 2010 shall also be sent by the referring Collectorate/Directorate to the relevant regional
Directorate of l&I, (Customs), under intimation to the Directorate of CBCM, for investigation
under AMLA, 2010.

The Regional Directorates shall keep a record/data of all such cases and share
monthly progress reports with the Director General, Intelligence and Investigation, (Customs) and
the Directorate of CBCM and shall regularly update record of the action taken and the progress
made in each case.

The Collectorate/Directorate that refers such cases shall maintain a complete and
updated record/data of all such cases, including Case No, date of the institution of the case,
name(s), CNIC/Passport No. and address(es) of the accused/respondent(s), description of the
goods, sections of law violated, value of the goods, revenue involved and current status of the case.

4. Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) Requests & Other Forms of International

Assistance: -

(1) Formal MLA Requests: The Collector/ Director shall ensure that in all cases where the
accused or the criminal offence has links in a foreign jurisdiction and evidence from such
foreign jurisdiction can be useful for investigation, an MLA request is sent to the concerned
foreign jurisdiction in either of the following manners:

Directly through the national focal point under the MLA (Criminal Matters) Act, 2020,
under intimation to the Chief, International Customs, FBR; or
Through the office of Chief, International Customs, FBR.

(2) Other Forms of Cooperation: The Collectorate / Directorate may also seek other forms
of international cooperation or informal assistance, under intimation to the Chief,

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 International Customs, FBR directly using the existing organization to organization
channels, whether online or manually.

(3) Efforts shall be made to develop and use an automated system to maintain and update
record of all incoming and outgoing MLA requests and other forms of international
cooperation.

5. Record Keeping and Reporting Framework. - (1) The Directorate of CBCM

shall be the overall data repository of all AML/CFT related cases pertaining to Pakistan
Customs, including cases referred to CTD, whether such cases are initiated on the reports of
Financial Monitoring Unit (EMU) or of the Collectorates / Directorates of Pakistan Customs.

All Collectorates / Directorates of Pakistan Customs shall also maintain an updated

record of all cases of predicate offences and shall submit monthly reports to the Chief,
Facilitation & Compliance (F&C), FBR with intimation to the Chief, Financial Action Task
Force (FATF) Cell, FBR.

All Collectorates / Directorates shall intimate the Directorate of CBCM on monthly

basis about the number of money laundering (ML) cases, including cases referred to CTD or
other agencies.

The International Customs (IC) Section of the Customs Wing, FBR shall maintain
record/data of all incoming and outgoing MLA requests on the prescribed format.

All Collectorates / Directorates shall be bound to respond to the MLA request

received from International Customs (IC) Section of FBR within the specified timelines, if any,
and shall keep an updated record of all incoming and outgoing MLA requests pertaining to their
respective jurisdiction.

6. Responsibilities of Border Stations, Sea Ports, Dry Ports, Airports & Other
Field Units. - (1) Maintenance and updating of data of seizures of goods under the Customs
Act, 1969 and other predicate offences, listed in Schedule-I of the AMLA, 20W as per CGO
04/2019 dated 6th May 2019.

(2) Maintenance of separate data on the following format in respect of all cases that are
referred to CTDs or the Regional Directorates of I&I, (Customs) for further action.

S.No. Case Name, CNIC/ Quantity & Name of Sections of Remarks

No & Nationality, Passport Value of Agency the Case Customs Act,
Dated address & No. of Goods is Referred to 1969, AMLA
Phone No of the seized and Date of 2010 or other
accused Accused referral to law(s) involved

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

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 Maintenance and updating of data of all meetings with other agencies, whether
domestic or foreign, including meetings of Border Task Forces and Joint Control Rooms, and
sharing reports/statements with their headquarters and the Directorate of CBCM.

Keeping active liaison and coordination with other Law Enforcing Agencies
(LEAs) in the fight against predicate offences and ML/CFT where Pakistan Customs has a
specified role.

Maintenance of data of all incoming and outgoing MLA requests and other forms
of international cooperation on the following format:

Outgoing MLA Requests

S.No. Case Name, CNIC/ Nature Description Date of Through Date of Remarks
No address & Passport of & Value of MLA MOFA, Response
& phone no No. of the offence the goods Request FIA or Received
Date of the Accused involved sent to directly
accused (Agency &
Country)

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

Incoming MLA Requests

S.No. Case Name of CNIC/ Dated of Nature of Action Date of Through Remarks
No agency Passport receipt offence Taken Reply MOFA,
& /country No. of the of MLA given FIA or
Date requesting Accused Request directly
MLA

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)
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7. Responsibilities of the Respective Collectorate/Directorate.- (1) Maintaining

consolidated data of all its sub-ordinate offices related to predicate offences as specified in
Schedule- I ofthe AMLA, 2010, under the Customs Act, 1969, ML cases and TF cases referred to
CID, covering all the relevant information maintained by its subordinate offices, stations, ports,
airports, as the case may be.

Sharing analysis reports and information, including monthly reports on the required
structured format with the Directorate of CBCM, Chief FATF Cell, FBR and Chief F&C
(Customs), FBR.

Follow up of the predicate offences, ML cases, MLA cases, and cases referred to
CTDs or the Regional Directorates of I&L (Customs).

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 Timely communication of MLA requests and other forms of assistance requests
from other LEAs and foreign jurisdictions to the respective subordinate offices for necessary action
/ response.

Liaison with all stakeholders at the appropriate level for data sharing, assistance,
and follow up of cases involving or necessitating inter-agency coordination and follow up.

The record/data envisaged under this order shall be maintained manually till
automated data management system is developed separately for (a) predicate offences, (b) cases
referred to CTD, and (c) ML cases.

8. Capacity Building/Training.- (1) Pakistan Customs Academy (PCA) shall

continue to impart training to the officers of Pakistan Customs on AML/CFT, including advanced
training sessions on AML and Trade Based Money Laundering (TBML) during domain specific
training.

Chief FATF Cell, FBR may, in collaboration with the Customs Wing FBR, also
keep liaison with other agencies and organizations, both abroad and in Pakistan, for organizing
supplementary specialized AML/CFT courses for the officers of Pakistan Customs, whether online
or in physical mode.

All Collectorates / Directorates of Pakistan Customs shall inform, at least once in a

financial year, PCA under intimation to the Chief, FATF Cell, FBR about their human resource
(FIR) training needs and PCA shall arrange the required training courses.

9. Updating Risk Assessment & Mitigation Strategy.- (1) All Collectorates /

Directorates shall be required to send biannual reports to the Chief, FATF Cell, FBR on new risks
and propose corresponding mitigation measures so that risk assessment, risk mitigation strategy
and risk-based approach are updated for a dynamic and robust AML/CFT regime across all
Pakistan Customs formations.

(2) Risk-based approach should be followed while posting officers and officials at
strategic locations and posts. While issuing their placement orders, it should be ensured by the
respective heads of the Collectorate / Directorate that such officers and officials have acquired the
relevant AML/CFT related training.

sam)
Secretary
(Law 8z Procedure)

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 AnnexunLA
-.

Government of Pakistan
Collectorate of Customs/Directorate of I&I Customs

No Dated.

To

The Deputy Inspector General,

Counter Terrorism Department
Government of

Subject: Referral for Parallel Investigation in Pursuance of Recommendation 30 of FATF

Kindly refer to the captioned subject.

2. The following case(s) of smuggling of (mention nature of goods) has/have

been lodged by this Collectorate/Directorate against the accused under Section of the
Customs Act, 1969 and criminal proceedings have been launched under the provisions of the said
Act. Copies of the FIRs and related documents are hereby forwarded for parallel investigation for
possible TF link and further necessary legal action, if any, under the provisions of the relevant law
accordingly.

Annex: As above

Name

Collector / Director

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 Annexure-B

Government of Pakistan
Collectorate of Customs/ Directorate of I&I (Customs)

No Dated.

To

The Deputy Inspector General,

Counter Terrorism Department

Government of

Subject: Referral of Cases in Consonance with Recommendation 30 of FATF

Kindly refer to the captioned subject and find attached the list of cases (both FIR cases and
Seizure cases), registered against the accused, for information and further necessary action as
deemed appropriate.

Annex: As above

Name-

Collector /Director

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•

Annex C

Check Sheet for TF Referral by Customs

Details of the Terminal /Post / Station

a)Name of Collectorate/Directorate: b)Name of Station/Port/Airport:

c)Date & Time: d)Name of Seizing Officer

e)No. of Suspects Apprehended: 0 Goods Seized:

Details of Suspect(s) Apprehended (please flu for each suspect)

Sr. Passport/Travel Contact

Name Father Name CNIC/ Address Number
No Document

Red Alerts Check List for TF Linkages

3.1.1s the suspect on 4th Schedule of ATA 1997? 0 Yes 0 No 0 Unsure
3.2.1s the suspect a known associate of a proscribed organization/individual?
Yes 0 No 0 Unsure
3.3.Does he have indirect association with a proscribed Organization/individual
Yes 0 No 0 Unsure
3.4.1s the suspect a UN Designated Individual?
0 Yes 0 No
3.5. Is there any suspicion about likely involvement of any of the UN designated
entities/individuals or proscribed organizations/individuals?
0 Yes 0 No 0 Unsure
3.6. Is he suspected to have conducted cash / gold smuggling on behalf of or at the direction
of a UN designated/ domestically proscribed entity or individual?
Yes 0 No 0 Unsure
3.7. Is the suspect/accused found on unilateral sanctions list of countries e,g. US-OFAC,
EU, etc.?
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 •

Yes 0 No
3.8. Use of cash is not consistent with the individual's purpose, objective and states
activities?
Yes El No 0 Unsure
3.9.Is there suspicion about the legitimate source of large amounts of cash / gold?
Yes 0 No 0 Unsure
3.10. Was he previously reported to have been involved in any smuggling related cash or gold?
El Yes 0 No 0 Unsure
3.11. Is there any Intelligence / tip off that the currency is being smuggled for an act of
terrorism that resulted in apprehension of the suspect?
Yes 0 No 0 Unsure
3.12. Is there any specific or prior information shared by LEAs on likely involvement of the
individual in TF related aspects?
Yes 0 No 0 Unsure
3.13. Is he suspected to be part of any larger cash courier network?
Yes 0 No 0 Unsure
3.14. Is there any request with respect to the suspect due to formal mutual legal assistance or
informal assistance from local or foreign authorities? \_}
o Yes 0 No 0 Unsure
3.15. Does the seizure made suspected to be used for financing terrorism?
Yes 0 No 0 Unsure

4. Additional Details (If any):

Caveat: The above checklist is without prejudice, is meant only for preliminary clues to potential
element of TF, and does not in any way entails legal obligations or liabilities for the referring
authority.

Name of Seizing/Investigating Officer

Signature

Date:

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