Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda owns properties in expensive areas of London, although he has emphasised they were purchased with money earned legally, a local media outlet reported on Monday.
The PTI leader has declared his assets with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), with five properties listed at various prices.
The addresses of two properties listed with the ECP are not clear on its website though they are listed with prices of £5,75,000 and £8,85,000.
Further, the PTI leader owns properties on 19-20 Hyde Park Place, 292 Elgin Avenue and 177 Quadrangle Tower near Edgware Road.
Prices for the three properties have been listed as £849,000 (Hyde Park Place), £584,350 (Quadrangle Tower) and £320,00 (Elgin Avenue).
However, the prices of these properties is less than their declared value, according to the report.
Prices of properties on 19-20 Hyde Park Place range from £1.3 million to £1.5 million while for 292 Elgin Avenue they range between £700,000 to £1,00,000. Similarly, properties on 177 Quadrangle Tower are estimated with a £1 million to £1.7 million price tag, the report added.
It is possible that the prices declared with the ECP represent their worth at time they were purchased rather than current prices.
The Hyde Park Place properties are close to places where Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Rehman Malik and former president Pervez Musharraf live. Hasan Nawaz Sharif also runs an office from a nearby place.
Earlier this month, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Abid Sher Ali shared videos on social media shot in parts of London while claiming that Vawda owns eight properties in the city, asking the PTI leader to explain sources of funds used for purchases.
In response, Vawda said that “I don’t own 8 properties in London and I challenge Abid to prove that. I do own assets in London and I have declared these before the ECP and there is no issue around that. I have made my money through legal means and these properties were bought through legal businesses. It’s unfortunate that the PML-N leader tried to defame me by going around London and making videos”.
