- Seven of the 20 individuals summoned by the top court left the country
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday directed 13 individuals to submit details of their properties in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before next Tuesday.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar heard the suo motu case regarding retrieval of funds from abroad.
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General Bashir Memon informed the court that out of 20 individuals summoned by the top court during the last hearing, 13 were present while the remaining seven were abroad.
Memon explained that five of the seven individuals left the country after the apex court summoned them on October 25.
The apex court then directed the 13 individuals to appear before the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and provide a detailed explanation about the properties they owned in the UAE.
The FIA was also ordered by the bench to send its representative to participate in the inquiry as well in order to maintain uniformity and submit a report over the matter within 10 days.
“Everyone, including overseas Pakistanis, should come and appear before the inquiry team led by the FBR,” the top judge remarked, adding that strict action would be taken against those who failed to cooperate.
CJP Nisar also ordered FBR to use relevant laws to pursue those who could not be arrested.
“There should be substantial material against anyone before starting proceedings,” he remarked further.
During the hearing, the DG FIA informed the bench that 894 properties were owned by Pakistanis in the UAE with 374 individuals disclosing their assets under the amnesty scheme. However, he added that 150 individuals did not disclose their assets and another 82 denied owning assets. He further explained that 150 people owned 203 properties each with a price of more than Rs50 million.
The DG FIA added that “Inquiry process has restarted” after the amnesty scheme ended.
The suo motu proceedings to recover assets stashed abroad were initiated by the apex court earlier this year.
A Supreme Court- mandated committee in its report in March this year advised not to use aggressive tactics to recover the funds, saying it could hamper economic recovery of the country.
“Such a course becomes even more unattractive in view of the modest chances of success of such an initiative in the context of the limitations of the existing legal framework and the challenges of tracing and taxing the funds in offshore havens and other jurisdiction,” the report said.
