Saturday, September 26, 2020

FinCEN Files: UK is Global Center For Money Laundering and Pakistan Among its Top 3 Sources

The latest leaks of US FinCEN (Financial Crime Enforcement Network) files show that the United Kingdom (UK) is the biggest global center for money laundering. An earlier report issued by the British Crime Agency put Pakistan among the world's top sources of money laundering in the United Kingdom. The latest FinCEN leaks represent just the tip of an iceberg. The leaked 2,100 FinCEN files covering $2 trillion worth of transactions that ICIJ (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists) and Buzzfeed reporters got their hands on represent just a small sliver of the roughly 12 million SARs FinCEN has received since 2011. Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has repeatedly raised the issue of the West's inaction in stopping the illicit flows of hard currencies from developing nations to the developed world. Money laundering and other financial crimes affect the economic roots of a nation like Pakistan and slow down its human and socioeconomic development.

FinCEN Leaks Represent Tip of Iceberg



FinCEN Leaks:

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is an arm of the U.S. Treasury Department responsible for keeping tabs on and combating money laundering. All banks are required by US Law to file SARS (Suspicious Activity Reports) of transactions involving unclear sources and beneficiaries, or those connected to jurisdictions with a history of financial crime. 

Banks file about 2.2 million such transactions each year. Very few of these are actually reviewed or investigated by the US government. Recently, journalists at Buzzfeed and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) have announced they have obtained 2,100 FinCEN files covering $2 trillion worth of transactions that  represent just a small sliver of the roughly 12 million SARs FinCEN has received since 2011. Some of the biggest western banks, including HSBC, JP Morgan, Barclays and Standard Charter Bank are named among the institutions reporting SARS. 

Pakistani Banks:

There are six Pakistani banks named among those filing suspicious activity reports with FinCEN. The banks named are Allied Bank, United Bank (UBL), Habib Metropolitan Bank, Bank Alfalah, Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan, and Habib Bank (HBL). According to the data revealed by ICIJ, 29 such suspicious transactions from and to Pakistan were flagged. Of those, the ‘received’ transactions amounted to $1,942,560, while the ‘sent’ transaction was $452,000. 

FinCEN leaks show suspicious activity of a Dubai-registered company linked to Altaf Khanani of Pakistan through accounts at Danske Bank. “There can only be one reason why money has been moved out of Danske Bank and into his trading companies - and that is money laundering. Because that was the only thing that happened in those companies,” says Richard Grant, the former head of the Australian intelligence service told DR, a Danish news platform. 

Pakistan Among Top 3 Sources:

British National Crime Agency (NCA) has identified Pakistan, Nigeria and Russia as the top source countries for money laundering in the United Kingdom, according to British media reports. The NCA report says the UK is a prime destination for foreign corrupt and politically exposed people (politicians and their families) to launder money. 


In its annual assessment of serious and organized crime, the NCA says: “Investment in UK property, particularly in London, continues to be an attractive mechanism to launder funds....As the UK moves towards exiting the EU in March 2019, UK-based businesses may look to increase the amount of trade they have with non-EU countries....We judge this will increase the likelihood that UK businesses will come into contact with corrupt markets, particularly in the developing world, raising the risk they will be drawn into corrupt practices.”

Here are some of the key excerpts of the UK NCA report titled "National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organized Crime 2018":

1. "The UK is a prime destination for foreign corrupt PEPs (politically exposed persons, a euphemism for politicians and their family member) to launder the proceeds of corruption. Investment in UK property, particularly in London, continues to be an attractive mechanism to launder funds. The true scale of PEPs investment in the UK is not known, however the source countries that are most commonly seen are Russia, Nigeria and Pakistan".

2. "The overseas jurisdictions that have the most enduring impact on the UK across the majority of the different money laundering threats are: Russia, China, Hong Kong, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Some of these jurisdictions have large financial sectors which also make them attractive as destinations or transit points for the proceeds of crime."

Politicians Dominate Panama Papers


Panama Papers Leak:

The NCA report says there are "professional enablers from the banking, accounting and legal world" who  facilitate the legitimization of criminal finances and are perpetuate the problem by refinancing further criminality.

In fact, there is an entire industry made up of lawyers and accountants that offers its services to help hide illicit wealth. Mossack Fonseca, the law firm that made headlines with "Panama Leaks", is just one example of companies in this industry.

Mossack Fonseca's 11.5 million leaked internal files contained information on more than 214,000 offshore entities tied to 12 current or former heads of state, 140 politicians, including Pakistan's now ex Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's family.  Icelandic Prime Minister resigned voluntarily and Pakistani Prime Minister was forced out by the country's Supreme Court.

The Panama list included showbiz and sports celebrities, lawyers, entrepreneurs,  businessmen, journalists and other occupations but it was heavily dominated by politicians.

Pakistani Names in Panama Leaks:

Pakistani politicians and their supporters use allegations of corruption in Pakistani military to distract attention from their own well-documented corruption. Just a quick look at the names in leaked Panama Papers shows that politicians, not generals, dominate these lists. Pakistani names included in Panama Papers are those of several politicians and business people, but no generals, according to media reports.

 Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is linked to 9 companies connected to his family name. Those involved are:  Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Nawaz, Maryam Nawaz, Relatives of Punjab Chief Minister and brother of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif are linked to 7 companies. They are: Samina Durrani and Ilyas Meraj.

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was linked to one company. Her relatives and associates are linked to others: Nephew Hassan Ali Jaffery Javed Pasha, Close friend of Asif Ali Zardari (4 companies), PPP Senator Rehman Malik (1 company), PPP Senator Osman Saifullah’s family (34 companies), Anwar Saifullah, Salim Saifullah, Humayun Saifullah, Iqbal Saifullah, Javed Saifullah, Jehangir Saifullah. The Chaudharies of Gujrat have not been linked personally but other relatives have including: Waseem Gulzar Zain Sukhera (co-accused with former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani’s son in the Hajj scandal).

Pakistani Businessmen in Panama Leaks: Real Estate tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain’s son (Bahria Town) Ahmad Ali Riaz (1 company), Chairman ABM Group of Companies Azam Sultan (5 companies), Pizza Hut owner Aqeel Hussain and family (1 company), Brother Tanwir Hassan Chairman Soorty Enterprise Abdul Rashid Soorty and family, Sultan Ali Allana, Chairman of Habib Bank Limited (1 company), Khawaja Iqbal Hassan, former NIB bank President (1 company), Bashir Ahmed and Javed Shakoor of Buxly Paints (1 company), Mehmood Ahmed of Berger Paints (1 company), Hotel tycoon Sadruddin Hashwani and family (3 companies), Murtaza Haswani Owner of Hilton Pharma, Shehbaz Yasin Malik and family (1 company), The Hussain Dawood family (2 companies), Shahzada Dawood Abdul Samad Dawood Partner Saad Raja, The Abdullah family of Sapphire Textiles (5 companies), Yousuf Abdullah and his wife, Muhammad Abdullah and his wife, Shahid Abdullah and his family, Nadeem Abdullah and family, Amer Abdullah and family, Gul Muhammad Tabba of Lucky Textiles, Shahid Nazir, CEO of Masood Textile Mills (1 company), Partner Naziya Nazir Zulfiqar Ali Lakhani, from Lakson Group and owner of Colgate-Palmolive, Tetley Clover and Clover Pakistan (1 company) and Zulfiqar Paracha and family of Universal Corporation (1 company).

Pakistani Judges in Panama Leaks: Serving Lahore High Court Judge Justice Farrukh Irfan, Retired Judge Malik Qayyum, Pakistani Media personnel in Panama Leaks: Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman of GEO-Jang Media Group (1 company).

FinCEN vs Panama Leaks: 

FinCEN leaks differ from previous bank leaks such as the Panama Papers in a crucial way: They are a snapshot into financial crime that banks are openly reporting to the authorities. 

These files mean, on a basic level, the reporting system is functioning. But the same leaks also show that banks frequently filed a SAR months after the transaction had taken place, and sometimes multiple times on the same client without anyone seemingly taking any action. 

West's Inaction Hurts Poor Nations:

Speaking to the 75th plenary session pf the United Nations General Assembly (UNGS), Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan raised the issue of the West's inaction is stopping the illicit flows of hard currencies from developing nations to the developed world. He said:"Every year billions of dollars leave poor countries & go to rich countries. Billions of dollars siphoned by corrupt politicians to tax havens ,expensive properties bought in western capitals. It is devastating to the developing world".  

Pakistanis see the United Kingdom as the "Money Laundering Capital of the World" where corrupt leaders from developing nations use wealth looted from their people to buy expensive real estate and other assets. Private individuals and businesses from poor nations also park money in the west and other off-shore tax havens to hide their incomes and assets from the tax authorities in their countries of residence.

The multi-trillion dollar massive net outflow of money from the poor to the rich countries has been documented by the US-based Global Financial Integrity (GFI). This flow of capital has been described as "aid in reverse". It has made big headlines in Pakistan and elsewhere since the release of the Panama Papers and the Paradise Leaks which revealed true owners of offshore assets held by anonymous shell companies. Bloomberg has reported that Pakistanis alone own as much as $150 billion worth of undeclared assets offshore.

Summary:

The latest FinCEM leaks and previous Panama Papers as well as British crime agency reports confirm that the UK has attracted vast sums of illicit wealth from Pakistan and other emerging economies. Speaking to the 75th plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGS), Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan raised the issue of the West's inaction is stopping the illicit flows of hard currencies from developing nations to the developed world. He said:"Every year billions of dollars leave poor countries & go to rich countries. Billions of dollars siphoned by corrupt politicians to tax havens ,expensive properties bought in western capitals. It is devastating to the developing world".  Money laundering and other financial crimes affect the economic roots of a nation like Pakistan and slow down its human and socioeconomic development.

Related Links:


Haq's Musings

South Asia Investor Review

The West Enables Corruption in Developing Nations

Did Musharraf Steal Pakistani People's Money?

Pakistan Economy Hobbled By Underinvestment

Raymond Baker on Corruption in Pakistan

Nawaz Sharif Disqualified

Culture of Corruption in Pakistan

US Investigating Microsoft Bribery in Pakistan

Zardari's Corruption Probe in Switzerland

Politics of Patronage in Pakistan

Why is PIA Losing Money Amid Pakistan Aviation Boom?

Riaz Haq's Youtube Channel

PakAlumni Social Network

10 comments:

Rks said...

How much of the money from Pakistan is from its Generals????

Riaz Haq said...

Rks: "How much of the money from Pakistan is from its Generals????"

You can read all the Pakistani names with offshore accounts in leaked documents.

There are no generals among them....only the top politicians and businesspeople.

samir sardana said...


The Pakistani MOFA and ISI,are missing an Opportunity,in FINCET.The maximum number of banks in Asia,in FINCET, are in India.

People say Y ? dindooohindoo

The NPAs of the Indian Banking system,would be Rs 30,00,000 crores (post COVID),and every year the banking and financial frauds,are Rs 150000 crores

All this stolen money,has to be laundered.Post Demonetisation - there is no safe haven,in real estate,and the Indian state being bankrupt,will soon start seozing idle and surplus lands,and also,demonetising bank deposits,and will also,demonetise the Rs 2000/- currency note.

Hence,this CASH has to EXIT India,and it will be caught by the US/UK and EU Int and Teasury cells (in terms of surveil).

The Chors who defraud the Indian Banking system,are all Banias.If you analyse the Poitical leaders,of the Hindoo Right WIng - they are are ALL Banias.The Ideologues of the Hindoo Right Wing,are Brahmins.The Hindoo Right WIng has CREATED these vermin bania bandits,to loot the banking system - to share a BULK of the Booty,with the Hindoo Right WIng. Thereafter, these vermin bania bandits, are exported to London - by the Hindoo Right Wing. There are many of these vermin bania bandits,ensconced in London.

The VHP,Hindu Mahasabha,Bajrang Dal,Durga Vahini,Sita Vahini,Ram Sena,Bandar Sena .....are all funded by these vermin bania bandits.It is not relevant that Durga was a prostitute who indulged in necrophilia in cadavers,and thus spent most of her time in graveyards.

All these Senas are ALSO headed by Banias (as the cash has to be accounted),but the Food Soldiers are Non-Banias.These Senas and Banias,planned and financed,the destruction of Babri Masjid,and Godhra,and the Muslim Lychings in India.These Senas and Banias,also FUND the juvenile,BUT RABID,anti-Pakistani,and anti-Muslim Propoganda,on the INDIAN Hindi TV media.

These Bania vermin also build temples,which get free land,from the state,and then,use the ill gotten cash,to launder it in tax exemot temple trusts,while also,stealing the offerings of Hindoo devotees,and using the temple premises,to stock arms and ammunitions,and operate illegal printing presses.

The entire banking and legal system,Tax laws,Company Law,RBI rules etc. - are designed to ALLOW,a few to RIP off the Indian People - and share the loot,with the Hindoo Right Wing - as the populace,is completely bewitched,by the fantasy Hindoo land stories,and subsumed,in the hate of Frankensteins created by the media - which plays on the insecurities and complexes,of a nation of heathens and menials.

And that is the link to Right Wing Hindoo terror and the financing of a Nazi Regime in India.

I am sure that if the ISI applies their mind to the above thesis,it will yield miraculous results.




Riaz Haq said...

#TransparencyInternational #UK Head : “Foreign politicians with convictions relating to corruption should not enjoy impunity in Britain. Nor should their unexplained wealth, stashed in luxury London properties, fall out of the reach of law enforcement" https://www.ft.com/content/bef9565a-59a4-4290-8b29-f3866db21a84



Mr Sharif “has been responsible for pillaging the state and I trust that you will be supportive of our efforts to bring those responsible for corruption to account”, Mr Khan’s adviser, Mirza Shahzad Akbar, wrote to Ms Patel on October 5.

After the Panama Papers revealed hidden assets belonging to Mr Sharif’s family, he resigned as prime minister in 2017. The following year a Pakistan court sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment for corruption. He has claimed that this and other corruption cases against him are politically motivated.


In November 2019 he flew to London after the Pakistan authorities granted him leave to travel abroad for eight weeks to seek treatment for various conditions. He sought an extension of his temporary release but the Pakistan authorities refused on the grounds that he had offered inadequate medical evidence and ordered Mr Sharif to return home.



According to records submitted to the Pakistan authorities, he has given as his London address the very flat on London’s opulent Park Lane that led to his downfall. His family’s ownership of the flat was exposed by the leak of secret files from the Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca.

The letter to Ms Patel urges her to use her “extensive powers” to deport Mr Sharif, arguing she is “duty bound” to do so. It cites immigration rules that criminals sentenced to four years or more must be refused leave to remain in the UK. A Pakistan court has issued a warrant for Mr Sharif’s arrest, the letter adds.

A Pakistan official said the UK had not yet formally responded. The Home Office declined to comment.

“Foreign politicians with convictions relating to corruption should not enjoy impunity in Britain. Nor should their unexplained wealth, stashed in luxury London properties, fall out of the reach of law enforcement,” said Daniel Bruce, head of Transparency International UK.

“The UK government should work constructively with democratic countries such as Pakistan to uphold the rule of law. Action should also be taken to seize and return illicit assets held here in Britain in order to deliver justice for the victims of corruption. Failure to act on cases such as this, earns the UK an unwelcome reputation as a safe haven for dirty money.”

Riaz Haq said...

This is Hard Talk not Capital Talk, Ishaq Dar gets butchered on #Pakistani Twitter. Ex-finance minister feels the heat in #BBC interview with Pakistani trolls ready to pounce. #IshaqDar #Pakistan #PMLN #NawazSharif #Corruption | The Express Tribune


https://tribune.com.pk/story/2274249/this-is-hardtalk-not-capital-talk-ishaq-dar-gets-butchered-on-pakistani-twitter


BBC journalist Stephen Sackur is known for grilling his guests on his show 'HardTalk and former finance minister Ishaq Dar was no exception as he was posed with hardhitting questions.

Soon after the interview was aired snippets were widely shared on Pakistani Twitter Dar answering Sackur's questions with #IshaqDar and #StephenSackur becoming the top trends in the country.

One Twitter user said that Dar expected the interview be like Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir's 'Capital Talk', however, he the PML-N leader was in for a rude awakening.

Journalist Shiffa Yousafzai drew attention to Sackur telling the former minister that "Nawaz Sharif worked hand in glove with Zia ul Haq and now the PML-N is complaining about military interference in politics".

Yousafzai added that the journalist interviewing PML-N vice-president would be "interesting"

Even the BBC journalist himself wrote on his Twitter handle that his interview had caused quite a stir in Pakistan.

The interview

Dar said PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif is struggling for democracy and supremacy of the parliament in Pakistan and the current government is a form of 'judicial martial law'.

The now absconding former minister said he does not accuse the army, as an institution, of undermining the democratic process in Pakistan but stated that "it is the will and plan of some people, the same people who enforce martial law in Pakistan".

When Dar was asked if the army or the army chief were undermining democracy, he said that the PML-N is not alone and international reports also have said the same. "I am not talking about the entire institution, we need to differentiate. These are the wishes and plans of certain people, the same people who enforce martial law in Pakistan."

"We are saying that if the elections were rigged, and this has now been proven, without doubt, someone is planning the entire thing. This is not us saying it, but the interior minister of Pakistan said that if Nawaz Sharif did not have issues with the institutions and the deep state, he would have become prime minister for the fourth time."

When asked if he had come to London seeking refuge as he is an absconder in Pakistan, the former finance minister said corruption allegations have been used repeatedly in the country's history and in the present circumstances, the current government is a "judicial martial law".

Riaz Haq said...

Sackur: It is quite clear that he (Nawaz Sharif) is a convicted criminal...he (Nawaz Sharif) was given 10 years' sentence which was later reduced to 7 years... Nawaz Sharif is London on medical grounds as are you...you are demanding an early election and an end to Imran Khan's government...what credibility do you have with the people of Pakistan?

Dar: What credibility does Imran Khan have....it was a rigged election (in 2018)....a stolen election...Pakistan Human Rights commission said so"

Sackur: EU (election) monitors reported some concerns about not just one party but several different parties..but they said the result was credible....Imran Khan's victory was credible.


https://youtu.be/7X4Nv6o4TOI

Fact: Ishaq Dar is quite competent in Money Laundering. He has been doing it for Nawaz Sharif for decades. He testified before a magistrate on April 25, 2000 that Sharif brothers used the Hudaibya Paper Mills as cover for money laundering during the late 1990s.

https://www.dawn.com/news/848873/sharifs-used-paper-mill-to-whiten-money-dar-told-court-in-2000

Riaz Haq said...

IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
UNDER THE CHARTERED INSITUTE OF ARBITRATION RULESBETWEEN:

Broadsheet LLC

- and -
(1) The Islamic Republic of Pakistan (2) The National Accountability Bureau

PART FINAL AWARD (Quantum)

Sir Anthony Evans 24 Lincoln’s Inn Fields London
WC2A 3EG

Date: Dec 17, 2018

Excerpts:

Stroz Friedberg was instructed to carry out a ‘forensic audit’ (or ‘inventory’) of the JIT Report. This consisted of identifying potentially recoverable assets of the Sharif Family that were referred to in it and ascribing a valuation to each. This resulted in a list of 76 items of property in three overseas jurisdictions, namely, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the United Kingdom, as well as in Pakistan, with total values that were corrected in the Revised SF Report to take account of Mr. Bezant’s comments on it. The revised total was US$820.8 million. The third instruction was “to apply the 20% rate due Broadsheet as outlined in the ARA” – a mechanical application of the 20% rate provided four in the ARA clause 4 – which resulted in a total ‘Loss of Revenue’ for Broadsheet of US$164.2 million. The fourth was to establish a ‘borrowing rate of interest’ for each of the 76 items of loss and to apply it from what they considered was the appropriate date. The interest calculation increased the total of ‘Broadsheet’s Entitlement’ to US$304.6 million.

-----------


The 2017/8 proceedings, however, in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, including the JIT Investigation and Report, have produced a very different situation where (subject to pending appeals) there is an authoritative listing of personal and family assets totalling (as corrected) US$820 million, both in Pakistan and abroad, and where certain real property in the United Kingdom valued at US$13 million (“the Avenfield flats”) has been forfeited to the Pakistan State as having been acquired with corrupt assets. These call for separate consideration in this Award.

-----------------

As stated above, the total value of assets both in Pakistan and overseas listed by the JIT is agreed by the expert witnesses as US$820 million. Whilst accepting that this figure must be discounted to take account of many factors, not least the costs of recovery etc., Claimant’s representatives have put it forward as what might be called the gross amount of possible recoveries by NAB for the purpose of calculating Broadsheet’s potential entitlement to 20 per cent, under the ARA Clause 4.



https://www.scribd.com/document/491113980/UK-high-court-decision-in-NAB-vs-Broadsheet-LLC-quantum-award#download

Riaz Haq said...

Revealed: List of all Pakistanis named in Pandora Papers so far
Those named include top cabinet members, ministers, media moguls, relatives of army officers and powerful businessmen.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1650077/revealed-list-of-all-pakistanis-named-in-pandora-papers-so-far

Politicians or politically exposed persons:
Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin and his family
Minister for Water Resources Moonis Elahi
Ex-federal minister and Senator Faisal Vawda
Son of PM’s former adviser for finance and revenue Waqar Masood Khan, Abdullah Masood Khan
Family of Minister for Industries and Production Khusro Bakhtiyar
PTI leader Abdul Aleem Khan
PPP’s Sharjeel Memon
PML-N’s Ishaq Dar’s son Ali Dar
PTI donor Arif Naqvi
PTI donor Tariq Shafi
Wife of PML-Q boss Chaudhry Pervez Elahi
Former FBR chairman and finance secretary Salman Siddiq’s son Yawar Salman
Army officers or their family members
Wife of retired Lt Gen Shafaat Ullah Shah
Raja Nadir Pervez, retired army officer and former minister
Retired Maj Gen Nusrat Naeem, former ISI director general of counterintelligence
Umar and Ahad Khattak, sons of former Pakistan Air Force chief Abbas Khattak
Retired Lt Gen Habibullah Khan Khattak's daughter Shahnaz Sajjad Ahmad (also the sister of retired Lt Gen Ali Kuli Khan and sister-in-law of former federal minister Gohar Ayub Khan)
Retired Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal Muzaffar’s son Muhammad Hasan Muzaffar
Retired Lt Gen Khalid Maqbool’s son-in-law Ahsan Latif
Retired Lt Gen Tanvir Tahir’s wife Zahra Tanvir
Business personalities
Axact CEO Shoaib Sheikh
National Bank of Pakistan President Arif Usmani
National Investment Trust Managing Director Adnan Afridi
Peshawar Zalmi owner and renowned industrialist Javed Afridi
Media moguls
Jang Group publisher Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman
Dawn Media Group CEO Hameed Haroon
Express Media Group publisher Sultan Ahmed Lakhani
Pakistan Today publisher (late) Arif Nizami
The Gourmet Group, which also owns the GNN TV channel
Header image: (From L-R) Senator Faisal Vawda, PPP leader Sharjeel Memon and Axact CEO Shoaib Sheikh are among the Pakistanis named in the Pandora Papers. — DawnNewsTV/Online/File

Riaz Haq said...

From CBS 60 Minutes on "Londongrad" aired June 19, 2022:

For years, Britain actively courted Russian billionaires, ignoring reports that some of their wealth was suspect. Today, there's so much Russian cash in Britain, the capital has been nicknamed "Londongrad." British Intelligence has warned that oligarchs' money is propping up Putin's regime – and helping to fund the war in Ukraine. As we first reported in April, the U.K. is under pressure to show its Western allies it can stop the flood of corrupt money.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/londongrad-united-kingdom-russian-oligarchs-60-minutes-2022-06-19/


Dominic Grieve: Money has been flowing into the United Kingdom — absolutely no doubt about this — which often has had what I can only describe as a tainted source. But then Russia is a mafia state.

Dominic Grieve is a former conservative member of Parliament, who served as attorney general and chaired Britain's intelligence committee. His 2019 report on Russian interference in U.K. politics, found Britain was awash in Russian oligarchs' money — much of it from untraceable sources.

---------------

This is Belgravia. These neighborhoods around Eaton Square are some of the most expensive on Earth. Once the exclusive preserve of dukes and barons, now…

---------


Oliver Bullough: There was a general feeling that if the money was coming here and paying taxes that was building schools and building roads and building hospitals, then we didn't care where it came from.

Riaz Haq said...

Why two luxury London homes are at the centre of Pakistan’s turmoil


https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/03/why-two-luxury-london-homes-are-at-the-centre-of-pakistans-turmoil

The NCA said it had reached a settlement with Malik Riaz that included the house and £140m in funds, then valued at £50m, that were suspected to be recoverable under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Malik Riaz highlighted on Twitter that the NCA said the settlement “does not represent a finding of guilt”. Lawyers for the Riaz family and Bahria Town said their position “was, and always has been, that the property was legitimate and there was no reasonable basis for suspecting that it was recoverable”. Thanks to the settlement “there never was any finding that any of the property was recoverable”, they said.

The fate of that money has become a matter of huge controversy in Pakistan. Khan was arrested on allegations that in late 2019 he and his wife, Bushra Bibi, received more than 20 hectares of land and millions of rupees in exchange for allowing the roughly £180m in settlement money – which was returned to the state of Pakistan – to be used by Malik Riaz’s company to pay its own supreme court settlement.

Khan, who came to power after captaining his country’s cricket team to world cup victory over England in 1992, has vehemently denied corruption allegations against him and his wife, and has vowed to take on the military establishment.

Lawyers for the Riaz family said: “Under the agreement, the funds previously frozen would be paid against the judgment debt owed by [Bahria Town].” There was never “any order, or agreement, that the ownership of any property should pass to the state of Pakistan”.

They added: “The whole point of the agreement was to reach an amicable settlement in relation to the property, and returning the property to Pakistan to settle the judgment debt was the most satisfactory outcome for all concerned. The property was not judged to be the proceeds of crime and ownership of the property did not pass to the state of Pakistan.”


The recent turmoil in Pakistan had raised serious questions for the NCA over its role in obtaining funds from the settlement for the benefit of a wealthy property tycoon, anti-corruption campaigners say.

Susan Hawley, executive director of Spotlight on Corruption, a charity, said: “The NCA’s settlement on secret terms with Malik Riaz Hussain showed an appalling lack of judgment by the agency which is now coming home to roost. The deal raised very serious questions at the time about whether it allowed Malik Riaz to benefit personally from its terms, and whether it represented a robust enough response to allegations of wrongdoing. The fact that it has now become central to the political turmoil taking place currently in Pakistan should give the NCA reason to review whether settlements in cases of kleptocracy are ever really suitable.”

Malik Riaz’s family still appears to be linked to other properties in London. The NCA’s original application to freeze the bank accounts related to Malik Riaz has been obtained by Spotlight. In the application – withdrawn after settlement was reached – NCA officers highlighted funds held on behalf of Fortune Event Limited, a British Virgin Islands company. Ahmed Ali Riaz, the son of Malik Riaz and the chief executive of Bahria Town, was named by the NCA as an ultimate beneficial owner of the company. The same company is listed on the UK’s Land Registry as the owner of nine apartments in grand Victorian stucco-fronted houses on Lancaster Gate, also overlooking Hyde Park. Title documents for two of the properties list an email address containing part of Ali Riaz’s name.