The Anti-Money Laundering Legislation in Pakistan: A Thematic Analysis

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to comprehend the structural components of the anti-money laundering act, 2010. After qualitative content analysis of the act, the current research found five key themes namely administrative, judicial, coercive, interacting and legislative frameworks. The findings of the study reveals that the administrative framework created various administrative offices, defined their roles, and established a command and coordination mechanism among various offices. The coercive framework authorized various administrative and judicial bodies to attach, forfeit, seize, freeze, or retain any property connected with money laundering, or to revoke licenses, impose fines, and punishments. The judicial framework provides the conditions and limitations for the courts to exercise jurisdiction, procedure for trial and appeal and some special rules of evidence to try money laundering cases. The findings also show that the act interacts with other statutory laws by borrowing provisions, or providing aid to other statutes or by giving priority to the act over other legal enactments. Likewise, the legislative framework empowered the federal government and the financial monitoring unit to amend the schedule or to make rules and regulations to achieve the objectives of the act.