ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Saturday informed the Supreme Court (SC) on Saturday that out of 895 Pakistani nationals who own properties in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), at least 35 are politicians.
According to a report submitted by the agency, at least 374 Pakistanis, out of the total 895, declared their UAE properties under the amnesty scheme announced by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in its tenure.
According to the FIA, 253 people who declared their assets in the UAE under the amnesty scheme were from Sindh, around 100 were from Punjab, 17 from Islamabad, and four from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while no one from Balochistan.
However, the agency couldn’t ascertain the veracity of their claims, nor cross-check the details with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) owing to the law providing for secrecy in the matters.
The number of foreign property holders who submitted affidavits to the FIA is 674 as per the report. At least seven people who have declared properties are facing inquiries by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The report further said 69 Pakistanis declared the properties they owned in Dubai in their tax returns, while 72 others refused to admit to having assets in the UAE. At least 150 people neither benefited from the amnesty scheme nor disclosed any details of their properties with the FBR, it added.