FBR's record burnt: Extremely difficult to drill record of offshore companies
It would be extreme difficult for Sharif family to provide money trail.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya Dunya) - Pakistan’s top court on 20th April-2017 has instructed joint investigation team (JIT) probe of the ruling Sharif family in much hyped Panama Leaks Case. The JIT would include officials from Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI), State Bank (SB), Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) while director-general level FIA officer will head the team. JIT will have jurisdiction to travel abroad for investigation.
An investigation carried out by Dunya News reveals that it would be extreme difficult for Sharif family to provide money trail about money transfer for establishing Gulf Steel Mills in Dubai. Sources said that Sharif family could face trouble as at that time State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had implemented Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 1947 under which transfer of money from country without permission of monetary watchdog was a punishable offense.
Section-32 of Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 1947 states that the offender may be subjected to two years in imprison or face monetary penalty or both. The section further narrates that the currency would be seized if anyone is caught doing money laundering.
Sources have revealed that the federal government is going to appoint new SBP Governor in upcoming months and the appointment holds great significance in pretext of Panamagate JIT.
A member of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), on condition of anonymity, disclosed that FBR had burnt all record, including that of Sharif family, in 2006 during Musharraf’s era by declaring it obsolete. FBR had only maintained digital data of income details of the taxpayers and returns of wealth tax.
Sources feared that rest of the record pertaining to the Sharif family had been transferred to the office of FBR Chairman in Islamabad from FBR’s Lahore regional tax office. So, it would be extreme difficult to prove Sharif family guilty of concealing assets or money laundering.
Similarly, sources linked to Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) narrate that Company Act 2017 has been under discussion in upper house of parliament for many months. The proposed act is aimed at summoning record of Pakistanis residing abroad but it would be a hard task for authorities to drill record of relatively old companies.
In the meantime, industrial sources have disclosed presence of Hussain Nawaz in Pakistan where he has met owners of giant conglomerates. During these sittings, Hussain has claimed presence of documental evidence of all assets whom details have been submitted in apex court. It would be almost impossible to declare prime minister guilty in presence of said documents.
