ISLAMABAD: Former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar son Ali Mustaf Dar has admitted that his company — Hazrat Data Sahib (HDS) acquired 52 ‘villas’ in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in early 2000s by pumping millions of dirhams into real estate business but later sold out this property in 2008.
“The 52 villas were not bought, they were booked actually for business purpose in Dubai. Only a token payment of estimated AED5 million per villa were paid and it is a common practice in the UAE,” Ali Dar told this correspondent exclusively.
Both the son and his father Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, however, strongly denied the allegations leveled by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday claiming that the business empire was established through laundering billions of rupees from Pakistan to Dubai.
13 offshore companies in Dubai were held by them. Hussain Nawaz, son of ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his son-in-law MNA Cap (R) Safdar were also employed in HDS Securities Pvt Ltd which owned 52 villas in Dubai, Khan claimed.