ISLAMABAD, January 14: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Monday informed the Supreme Court that it has tracked down properties of 96 more Pakistanis in the United Arab Emirates.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar heard a case pertaining to the foreign assets owned by Pakistanis. An audit member of the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) and FIA Director General Basheer Memon were among the officials present in today’s hearing.
The FIA, in its report submitted in the apex court, said that 1,211 Pakistani citizens own 2,154 properties in the UAE. About 345 people have been served notices.
The report also stated that 61 people remain unidentified, five are deceased, 10 are uncooperative, while one is absconding.
Furthermore, 413 people took advantage of the tax amnesty scheme that ended in August last year, whereas 167 people declared their properties to the FBR. 79 people declared their properties in tax returns, while 97 individuals disowned their properties in the UAE, the FIA report said.
The FIA had earlier identified 1,115 people who owned properties in the UAE.
The FBR representative told the court that the FIA had provided data of 895 people and 1,365 properties. The audit member further said that Rs340 million have so far been recovered, while another Rs768 million are expected to be recovered.
Displeased by the progress so far, the chief justice ordered FBR to
submit its progress report within a month about recovery of assets and amounts illegally accumulated abroad by Pakistani citizens.-Agencies
