The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) of UK imposes penalties for failing to report a suspicion of money laundering, makes all forms of money laundering unlawful in the United Kingdom. To understand more about all this, the UK’s National Law Enforcement Agency is governed by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, looks into money laundering and illegal currency obtained from both domestic and foreign criminal activity.
The £190M case involves allegations of misusing UK-settled funds, redirected from Pakistan’s state account to Bahria Town Karachi liabilities.
The NCA gives the stolen money back to the state in question if it is looking into a case outside of the UK. Therefore, the agency will prosecute or reach a settlement in the UK and return the funds to the Pakistani government if it is looking into fraud or money laundering from Pakistan.
Precisely, the £190 million case revolves around allegations of corruption and misuse of power over a 2019 settlement between real estate owner Malik Riaz and the PTI-led government that is said to have cost the national exchequer £190 million. According to the NAB’s records, the money was “dishonestly” and “maliciously” adjusted against BTK’s liability by moving it to a specific account that the Supreme Court registrar kept solely for depositing BTK’s liability, rather than being repatriated to the state.
The case has implicated Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi, Barrister Shahzad Akbar, and Malik Riaz as suspects. Allegations against them include accepting unauthorized advantages in the form of land for the construction of Al-Qadir University, modifying cash supplied by the NCA to the Pakistani government, and allegedly providing legal protection for the money of the property tycoon.
Among the suspects in this reference are property tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain and his son Ahmed Ali Riaz, Mirza Shehzad Akbar, and Zulfi Bukhari. However, they chose to flee and were later declared proclaimed offenders (PO) rather than participate in the inquiry and subsequent court processes.
The background of the facts was that, in August 2018, the National Crime Agency acquired eight AFOs related to the investigation against Mr. Riaz from Westminster Magistrates Court in London using the Proceeds of Crime Act of 2012. Account Freezing Orders (AFOs), which give law enforcement the ability to target suspected proceeds of crime using a civil burden of evidence rather than a criminal one, were used to implement Mr. Riaz’s £190 million settlement in the UK in 2019.
Instead of going to court to get a Forfeiture Order, the NCA was able to reach a private settlement with Malik Riaz because it was a civil issue. The accounts of Mr. Riaz’s wife Bina Riaz, daughter Sana Salman, son Ali Riaz, daughter-in-law Mubashra Ali, and a number of businesses, including Fortune Events and Ultimate Holdings, were the subjects of the AFOs by NCA.
NAB alleges Imran Khan accepted unauthorized benefits, including 458 kanals of land, for Al-Qadir Trust, raising legal challenges.
Accordingly the settlement for repatriation of the amount to State account of Pakistan as per NCA law was signed on 3rd November 2019 even prior to the Cabinet decision of 3rd December 2019 but the laundered amount was adjusted against the civil liability of Malik Riaz pending in Supreme Court with the facilitation of government of that time which should had been deposited to the State account of Pakistan known as account 1.
These facts led to the NAB reference in December 2023, which stated that Imran Khan, the Prime Minister at the time, dishonestly and maliciously permitted the adjustment against the civil liability of Bahria Town Karachi by transferring the money laundered to the account maintained by the Registrar Supreme Court of Pakistan, which was only designated to deposit liability of Bahria Town Karachi in light of SC orders issued in March 2019, rather than repatriating the £170 million property of Malik Riaz and his family that should have been deposited to the state of Pakistan account.
Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Murad Saeed, Pervaiz Khattak, Shafqat Mehmood, Shireen Mazari, Ali Haider Zaidi and Hammad Azhar, Dr. Shireen Mazari, Shafqat Mahmood, and Asad Umar were among the 21 members of the former premier Imran Khan’s cabinet who had previously received notices from the NAB asking them to record their statements. Ali Riaz Malik, the son of Bahria Town’s founder Malik Riaz, was also called by NAB.
As per record, all of this commenced in collusion with Special Assistant Shahzad Akbar, who wrote in a memo dated December 2, 2019 f that a settlement with the Pakistani government was required to return the money that had been laundered from Pakistan, without revealing its contents to the Cabinet members. Therefore, in a sealed envelope on December 3rd, the Cabinet under the Chairman of Imran Khan gave its approval.
Thereafter, at a press conference in Islamabad on December 5, 2019, Shazad Akbar declared that £140 million had been returned to Pakistan and deposited into the Supreme Court’s account. He sidestepped the topic by claiming that Mr. Riaz, the government, and NCA had all signed a “deed of confidentiality” that barred him from going into further detail on how the funds could be moved to the SC account. However after knowing all the facts, SC returned amount to federal and Sindh governments.
Thereafter, In April 2023, the reference became the subject of an inquiry and interrogation; in December 2023, the reference was filed. Imran Khan and his spouse were shown the questionnaire, which included 79 specific questions on the claims and financial information in the 190 million-pound case, during the NAB court hearing.
Malik Riaz and associates allegedly colluded with key government officials to facilitate fraudulent financial adjustments against liabilities.
Additional documentation showed that Malik Riaz gave Imran Khan 458 Kanals of land, Rs 285 million, a building, furniture, and other items in exchange for a donation to the Al-Qadir University Project Trust, of which Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Imran Khan are trustees, according to the reference.
Originally given to Zulfiqar Bukhari, the land was subsequently given to the trust. For Imran Khan, Zulfiqar Bukhari served as his front man. Charge sheet of the case was made by NAB court in February 2024.
As per record from December 26, 2019, till April 2020, Zulfiqar Bukhari the than Special Assistant to Prime Minister also served as a trustee of the Al-Qadir trust as well. Additionally, it has been claimed by NAB that the Al-Qadir University and trust did not exist when Imran Khan received such reportedly financialsupport for the trust.
Akbar and the PTI chief were charged with complicity in the reference. According to the report, on December 2, 2019, Akbar presented a false letter claiming that the Supreme Court Registrar’s account was the state of Pakistan’s.
It further claimed in NAB reference that because the PTI chairman, who was prime minister at the time, had acquired 458 kanals of land in 2019 under Zulfi Bukhari’s name, he was privy of the entire plan. Further, 240 kanals land had been transferred in the name of Farah Gogi in the year 2022 and she was also made trustee at that time.
The aforementioned facts, as reported by the NAB in their reference, demonstrate legally that there were serious legal violations and misrepresentations made with the Cabinet, NCA, and even with the Supreme Court by the accused.
Supreme Court’s designated account was misrepresented as the state account, violating legal protocols and public trust.
According to the NAB, this all resulted in “dishonesty” and “malicious” adjustments against BTK’s liability by moving it to a specific account that the Supreme Court registrar kept exclusively for depositing BTK’s liability, rather than being repatriated to the state account.
Based on the provisions of NAB law and the admitted facts as reported before various forums, all accused of instant reference but particularly at this stage, the former Prime Minister and his wife, may face serious legal challenges before courts of law.
Disclaimer:Â The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.
