FIA unearths properties of 96 more Pakistanis in UAE

Islamabad: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Monday unearthed properties of 96 more Pakistanis in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during an ongoing investigation against individuals having assets beyond known sources of income. According to the latest FIA report, 1,211 Pakistanis have 2,154 properties in the UAE. The investigation body said it had served notices to 341 more people pertaining to the case. The report stated that 61 property holders could not be identified as yet. It added that 10 people were not cooperating, five expired and one of them is absconding. The report all relayed that investigations against 167 people had been closed whereas 79 property holders had submitted their tax returns. “97 individuals expressed ignorance about their properties in the UAE.” Last year, on Nov 30, the FIA submitted a new report to the Supreme Court containing details of Pakistanis who have stashed their assets abroad. According to the FIA list, as many as 1,115 Pakistanis own UAE properties. Out of them, 338 belong to Punjab, 639 are from Sindh, 115 from Islamabad, 18 from Khyber Pakhtukhaw and five from Balochistan. The report states that 417 people out of them availed the tax amnesty scheme. A breakdown shows that 117 people who availed the amnesty scheme belong to Punjab, 267 to Sindh and 29 are from Islamabad. The FIA probe also revealed that 90 foreign property holders denied owning any asset in the UAE. Last year, in September, the SC asked the FIA to kick-start a campaign, inquiring about the owners of 2,700 properties identified by the agency.