ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of (SECP), the country’s financial regulatory agency, has directed all non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and other regulated entities to immediately freeze all investment accounts of Jaish-e-Muhammed chief soon after the UN placed him on its global terror list.
Pakistan has also imposed a travel ban on Azhar.
The SECP issued the freeze order after the Pakistan foreign office asked all concerned entities, including of Pakistan (SBP) and SECP, to freeze the funds, accounts and other financial resources of the JeM chief.
Regulated entities include securities brokers, commodities brokers, insurers, and NBFCs.
The SECP has asked the NBFCs to scan their customer databases for any match with the stated designated/proscribed person in the attached SRO (issued by the foreign office) and report the results to the SECP within three days.
However, in case of a true match or suspicion of a proscribed/designated person, some strict action has to be taken immediately. These actions, according to SECP, would be to freeze without delay the customer’s fund or block the transaction if it is an existing customer; reject the customer if the relationship has not commenced; lodge a suspicious transaction report with the , notify the SECP; notify the ministry of foreign affairs in case that person is designated under UNSC Resolutions; and notify the National Counter-Terrorism Authority in case that person is designated under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.
“Please note that non-compliance with the above shall lead to penal action under the SECP Act, 1997. You are therefore advised to comply with the legal requirement within the prescribed time as contained in the regulations, guidelines and SRO respectively,” the SECP instructions added.
An interior ministry official said the JeM chief was already on the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorist Act (ATA) and could not travel without permission from the police. He was also barred from owning any weapon due to the listing under the ATA.
His name was also already on the list of proscribed persons maintained by the National Anti-Terrorist Authority.
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