Pakistan ranks better than India on global financial crime risk index

Pakistan has fared better than India in a global index that measures the risk of financial crime.

In its 2025 report, the Basel AML Index — an independent, research-based ranking of money laundering and financial crime risks — ranked 177 nations around the world according to their risks of money laundering and related financial crimes.

The Index scores jurisdictions on a scale of 0-10, where a lower number indicates a lower risk of money laundering and related financial crimes.

The data released this week showed Pakistan secured a slightly more favorable overall risk profile than India.

Pakistan registered an overall risk score of 5.63, placing the country marginally ahead of its regional counterpart, India, which received an overall risk score of 5.66.

Both Pakistan and India fall within the Index's Medium risk category, defined by scores between 4.70 and 6.08.

In terms of global ranking, Pakistan is positioned at rank 63, while India is ranked 60.

The data indicates that despite Pakistan achieving a better risk score, both countries experienced an increase in overall financial crime risks since 2024.

The South Asia region overall remains stable in its risk profile, although it saw higher financial transparency risks balanced by modest improvements in anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism frameworks.

Overall, the global average score in the Basel AML Index improved only slightly in 2025, from 5.30 to 5.28.

“The change is statistically insignificant. However, the fact that the global average is not worsening offers some reassurance that efforts to counter money laundering are not being entirely outpaced by fast-moving threats, including the rising use of virtual assets and artificial intelligence for illicit purposes,” the report stated.

Overall, Myanmar had the highest risk score of 8.18 while Finland had the lowest 3.03.

The Basel AML Index says its aim is to “provide a holistic picture of money laundering risk”.

Its rankings are based on 17 data sources, including FATF evaluations, U.S. State Department reports, and World Bank data, etc.