FBR probing $65 million transaction from Malaysia

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has asked the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to share details of account holders who made $65 million suspicious transaction from Malaysia to Pakistan in order to apprehend potential tax dodgers, The News has learnt.
According to official communication sent to Governor SBP Ashraf Mahmood Wathra by the FBR, the tax authorities have required details of bank accounts in which $65 million were transferred from Malaysia to Pakistan so that aspect of tax evasion could be investigated thoroughly.
The SBP had blocked a transaction of $65 million originating from Malaysia after a foreign bank generated Suspicious Transaction Report (STR).The official communication sent out by the FBR’s Intelligence and Investigation (I&I) Inland Revenues (IR) to SBP states that the I&1, IR is empowered by the government to take stern action against those tax evaders and fraudsters who are causing huge losses of revenues to national exchequer. For this purpose, the federal government has specifically assigned this task to I&I, IR through SRO. 115 (1) 2015 dated 09-2-2015 to investigate STRs and tax amount involved as per provision of Income Tax Ordinance 2001.
The FBR has recently handed over powers to Intelligence and Investigation wing of Inland Revenues (IR) to investigate STRs with the purpose to detect tax evaders.
In view of foregoing facts, the FBR has requested the SBP to share the details of beneficiaries including details of bank accounts in which $65 million were transferred from Malaysia to Pakistan to ascertain culprits in this regard.
The Anti Money Laundering (AML) Act 2010 empowers the government to take legal action against money laundering and terrorist financing. Now the government has tabled amendments in AMLA 2010 into the Parliament with the intention to give more powers to this law and to bring it in line with Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global network for tracking down countries to comply with international standards.