ISLAMABAD: More than 2,401 Pakistani nationals, who recently acquired costly properties worth over US$4 billion in Dubai, may get whitened their undeclared assets abroad under the new amnesty scheme, introduced by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government this week, the News has reported.
Officials associated with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) confirmed that 95% investors have not declared their Dubai assets. According to a confidential document available with the correspondent, around 2,401 plus super-rich Pakistanis had bought luxury residential villas/ flats/ estates in around a dozen renowned localities of Dubai in the past nine years.
Some 967 residential/ commercial properties were bought in luxury areas of Greens, 75 precious flats in Emirates Hills, 165 properties in Discovery Garden (residential and commercial), 167 flats in Jumeirah Island, 123 residential properties in Jumeirah Park, 245-plush flats in Jumeirah Village, 10 properties in Palm Deira, 160 in Palm Jabel Ali, 25 properties in Palm Juemirah Shorelines, 234 properties in International City and 230 flats were bought in Dubai Cilicon, according to the document.
These Pakistani emerged as the second largest investors group being nine per cent of the total, as compared to 13pc for Indians, followed by 7pc each for British, Chinese, Iranians and Russians during this period.
The base price (lowest value unit) of a property in Dubai market was AED1,000,000 and upper end properties were worth as high as AED15,000,000, say some known property consultants in Dubai.
This reporter has particulars of all those investors and the confidential document contains particulars of some 34,000 rich families from 118 countries (including some 7,000 from Pakistan) in all. For collecting all these details, the correspondent met more than two dozen officials of the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), FBR, SBP and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Pakistan, and a number of property consultants in Dubai.
The Pakistani authorities hope that the new scheme would bring around Rs470 billion only from Dubai. This correspondent made repeated requests via emails, WhatApp and text messages to all prominent Pakistanis, who acquired properties through offshore companies in Dubai in the past six months, but only 25 responded. Neither Pakistani mission in the UAE nor the Dubai Land Authority responded to the queries made by the reporter.
Meanwhile, the FBR authorities told the reporter that the UAE confirmed particulars of 55 proprieties, owned by 31 Pakistani nationals. Among them is the sister of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, Ms Aleema Khan, who’s at top of the list and she had concealed her property from tax authorities, revealed official documents exclusively made available to this correspondent. Ms Khan acquired the property in Dubai but did not declare it with the tax authorities.
The estimated cost of the property is around AED3 million, independent consultants say. The FBR informed the Supreme Court that under Section 176 of the tax laws, it served a notice on Ms Khan after she failed to disclose the foreign asset with the tax authorities. Ms Khan neither confirmed nor denied it.
Abdullah Hashwani also did not disclose his Dubai/UAE properties. He owns properties in Dubai, FBR claims. He, despite several attempts made by this corresponded, did not respond to the queries.
By: Zahid Gishkori