By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The government has accused real estate tycoon Malik Riaz and his company Bahria Town of engaging in large-scale money laundering, unveiling evidence from a recent Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) raid that documented Rs1.12 billion in illicit transactions.
In a televised press conference on Wednesday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar described the findings as “incontrovertible proof” of corruption by Riaz and Bahria Town. “An important development occurred a day ago in the investigation of the Bahria Town corruption case,” he said. “The documents that have surfaced reveal money laundering and corruption of a great amount by Malik Riaz and Bahria Town with the documents recovered so far showing evidence of Rs1.12 billion in money laundering.”
The operation targeted Rawalpindi’s Safari Hospital, which Tarar alleged served as a “front office” for money laundering. “The hospital’s ambulances were being used to transport the money and records,” he said, adding that the setup was designed to avoid suspicion. “When the raid took place yesterday … two people, Imran and Kaiser, who ran the hawala and hundi operations, were linked to the Bahria Town chief financial officer and the evidence has been seized by the FIA.”
Tarar detailed how the seized documents exposed a broader scheme. “The documents that have surfaced reveal money laundering and corruption of a great amount by Malik Riaz and Bahria Town,” he said, alleging that the company’s leadership, including CFO Amir Rasheed and head Shahid Qureshi, orchestrated a “major money laundering racket” to send billions abroad illegally. “None of this money was sent abroad through official or banking channels but through illegal means.”
The minister reported attempts to destroy evidence during the raid. “As soon as the FIA carried out the raid, Bahria Town personnel tried to burn some of the records. Some documents were burnt, but we seized the majority,” he said, questioning, “If there was nothing illegal in that hospital, why burn records?”
Tarar emphasized that the investigation was ongoing, with more evidence expected to emerge. “There will be more amounts besides the Rs1.12bn that will come forth,” he said, urging those involved to surrender. “Malik Riaz organised all of this and sending money abroad through hundi and hawala is a crime. We will bring more evidence before the public.”
He clarified that the probe targets only Riaz, his officials, and family members implicated in the scheme. “We are only investigating Malik Riaz, his officials and family members involved in this racket,” Tarar said, assuring Bahria Town residents they would not be affected.
The allegations intensify legal pressures on Riaz, an absconder in the Al-Qadir Trust case, and Bahria Town, which faces a fresh National Accountability Bureau (NAB) auction of six properties. On Tuesday, Riaz appealed for talks, writing on X: “I would like to make a final appeal from the bottom of my heart that we be given a chance to return to serious dialogue, and a dignified solution.” He pledged to join arbitration and honor its outcome, adding, “If the arbitration decision requires payment of money from our side, we will ensure its payment, God willing.”
Meanwhile, Bahria Town, one of Pakistan’s largest property developers, said it would challenge a court ruling allowing the auction of of its properties. The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition by Bahria Town against the auction of its properties by the NAB. The auction is scheduled for August 7 at NAB’s Islamabad office.
“We are going to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court today,” Farooq H. Naik, counsel for Bahria Town, said.
The six properties up for auction include one in Islamabad and five in Rawalpindi. NAB said the sale aims to recover unpaid amounts from a settlement deal linked to the £190 million case involving Hussain.
In 2019, Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said Hussain had agreed to hand over £190 million held in Britain to settle a UK investigation into whether the money was from the proceeds of crime. The agency said the assets would be passed to the government of Pakistan and the settlement was “a civil matter, and does not represent a finding of guilt.” The case made against Hussain and former Prime Minister Imran Khan was that instead of putting the settlement money in Pakistan’s treasury, Khan’s government used the money to pay fines levied by a court against Hussain for illegal acquisition of government lands in Karachi.
The crackdown is widely speculated to relate to the Al-Qadir Trust case, which involves accusations that Khan and his wife, during his premiership from 2018-2022, were given land by Hussain as a bribe in exchange for illegal favors. In January, a court sentenced Khan to 14 years imprisonment in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
Bahria Town, founded in the late 1990s, is one of Pakistan’s largest private employers and a major developer of luxury housing schemes across the country. Over the years, the company has been the subject of multiple investigations over illegal land acquisitions and unauthorized development but has continued to operate.
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