KARACHI: In a landmark move, the Provincial Cabinet of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has approved the registration of Revenue offices as Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) during its meeting on January 15, 2025. This decision, spearheaded by Additional Director Amanullah Tareen, aims to curb the parking of illicit funds related to terrorism financing and money laundering within the real estate sector.
The Board of Revenue KP, under Tareen’s guidance, prepared and moved the summary to the Chief Minister of KP, marking a significant step in dismantling the financial networks of criminals. The DNFBPs Directorate KP has set a national precedent by obtaining provincial cabinet approval for this initiative. Moving forward, the Directorate will oversee these provincial departments and revenue offices, conducting inspections to enforce Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) laws.
The cabinet’s approval also includes the implementation of the AML/CFT regime in the province. Under this regime, public entities and reporting entities involved in real estate transactions will be registered as DNFBPs under the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). This includes government agencies managing property development and transfer, local authorities handling public land auctions, and revenue officers such as tehsildars, sub-registrars, and naib tehsildars.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has identified DNFBPs as potential tools for channeling and parking proceeds of crime. Historically, these sectors have been largely undocumented and unregulated, posing high to medium risks for money laundering and terror financing. The National Risk Assessment has highlighted the vulnerabilities within these sectors, making this initiative a crucial step towards greater financial transparency and security.