Billions of rupees involved in a colossal money laundering operation havecome to light during a customs audit conducted on two solar panel importersin Pakistan, according to official documents obtained by The ExpressTribune. This illicit financial activity was orchestrated through anelaborate over-invoicing scheme executed by the entities Bright StarBusiness Solutions Private Limited and Moonlight Traders.
Following a comprehensive investigation subsequent to customs clearance,the Directorate of Customs Post Clearance Audit (South) has initiatedseparate legal proceedings against these two companies.
Reports suggest that these entities imported solar panels valued at Rs35billion from China, but shockingly managed to funnel a staggering Rs73billion in illicit funds overseas by artificially inflating the invoicevalues. What initially appeared to be a Rs73 billion worth of solar panelsended up being sold in the local market for Rs46 billion.
The investigation laid bare the non-operational nature of these twocompanies, uncovering serious violations and irregularities during theaudit of their imported solar panels. This included the illicit transfer ofRs73 billion and the manipulation of the values of the imported solarconsignments.
It was determined that Bright Star Business Solutions (Pvt) Ltd andMoonlight Traders had imported a total of 2,900 consignments of solarpanels from China between 2017 and 2022, with over-invoicing amounting toRs38 billion.
To further substantiate the import prices, the audit team delved into thesales tax records of the importers, revealing a significant disparitybetween the actual price per watt of the imported solar panels and what wasdeclared in the goods declaration.
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Bright Star claimed imports of solar panels worth Rs47.6 billion, whileMoonlight declared imports of Rs25.4 billion. Both companies were deemed tobe dummy entities, as their income tax returns failed to reflect thelegitimate income required.
Furthermore, the investigation unveiled close ties between these twocompanies, as evidenced by bank statements indicating financialtransactions between them. Remarkably, their offices were found to besituated in the same building at Dean Trade Centre in Peshawar Cantt.Astonishingly, these importers managed to shift Rs73 billion abroad,despite their financial records showing a mere Rs110 million in assets.
Source: Express Tribune link
