Federal government to come up with law further strengthening NAB, FIA
Shares
ISLAMABAD - The government has finalized a broad based mutual legal assistance law to obtain evidence from foreign jurisdictions about financial crimes and mega corruption cases involving Pakistanis.
This was stated by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar while addressing a news conference in Islamabad on Sunday.
He said the law will soon be placed before the cabinet and it will be brought first through an ordinance and then presented before the parliament.
He said this law is more open and will empower the National Accountability Bureau and the FIA to carry out the investigations as per the international treaties.
Shahzad Akbar said that a bilateral treaty is again being ratified with the Swiss authorities which will enable the country to get the details of the bank accounts opened by Pakistani nationals.
The special assistant said that Pakistan has already signed a treaty with Britain which will help speed up the investigations into different high profile asset cases.
He said he is also visiting Britain next week where he will meet with his conterpart of national crime agency and also hold discussions on the pending requests for extradition including that of former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
He said we are also exploring the option of initiating civil proceedings in Britain as it will ensure early repatriation of the plundered amount.
Shahzad Akbar said that over the last decade or so no effort was made for the asset recovery despite the fact that countries such as China and India achieved great success in the asset recovery.
Shahzad Akbar said that agreements will also be signed with China and the UAE for the exchange of information and join investigation to check the money laundering The special assistant said the system has now been streamlined. He said a special asset recovery unit has been established in the PM office which is working under his supervision.
He said that nine to ten billion dollars of money laundering was annually taking place from Pakistan. He said as the relevant institutions such as the FIA have been activated and being fully supported, therefore, cases of corruption and those of fake accounts are being unearthed.
Shahzad Akbar said that the previous governments are responsible for current economic situation of the country. He said besides huge debt burden, the losses of public sector enterprises stood over one trillion rupees.
