PM Imran Khan task force targets 100 filthy rich owners of illegal offshore assets and money
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ISLAMABAD - The Prime Minister Imran Khan's Task Force has recommended the formation of an asset recovery unit.
The assets recovery unit to target the 100 biggest owners of offshore money and properties.
The assets recovery unit would be located at the Prime Minister’s (PM) Office.
It will comprise representatives of the National Accountability Bureau, Federal Investigation Agency, State Bank of Pakistan and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to ensure coordination between government agencies.
In compliance with the directives of the Supreme Court, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government wants to select around 100 major cases to establish a precedent whereby efforts would be made to repatriate illegal wealth through the mutual legal assistance track of the OECD agreement.
It would also seek to bring home non-taxed income and proceeds of corruption through the enforcement of avoidance of double taxation agreements with various countries.
The PM's task force recommended that the asset recovery unit be formed on the lines of the joint investigation team which probed the Panama Papers case on the directives of the apex court.
However, independent experts believe that the PTI-led government would have to institute major changes in taxation laws, anti-money laundering regulations, and the Protection of Economic Reforms Act 1992 to expedite the return of illegal assets loosely estimated to be worth $200 billion.
Prime Minister Imran Khan constituted the task force, headed by Barrister Shahzad Akbar, to recommend ways and means of repatriating illegal wealth either stashed in foreign banks or turned into assets around the world.
Without providing legal cover for stern action, such as the suspension of Computerised National Identity Cards and machine-readable passports, it would not be an easy task, official sources said.
