Action against benami assets begins

ISLAMABAD: As the crackdown against benami holders gets underway, the FBR’s newly-established zones at Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad have attached properties and accounts of 30 public office holders, including Asif Ali Zardari and Senator Chaudhry Tanveer Khan.

The FBR also sent out notices and attached properties in major cities of the country including Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi. As the amnesty scheme was extended and continued till Wednesday, the FBR kick-started its crackdown against public office holders because they were not eligible to avail the Asset Declaration Scheme 2019.

After expiry of the asset declaration scheme deadline, the FBR would launch a crackdown against 300 biggest benami holders and has finalised the list of such mega cases. The countrywide action would involve attachment of properties and bank accounts along with sending notices. “The benami law authorises the FBR to attach properties and accounts, so the FBR launched its operation and started action from public office holders,” the FBR Chairman Shabbar Zaidi told The News. The FBR chairman said they attached properties of certain public office holders on the basis of available information about the Zardari family, Chaudhry Tanveer Khan and others. He said if someone is subsequently found not to have any Benami assets, his property or accounts would be detached.

Official sources said they had first sent out notices to 30-35 individuals mainly public office holders or their dependents including Zardari family, Senator Chaudhry Tanveer from the PML-N and others for ownership of Benami properties or income.

“The FBR issued notices to around 30 to 35 public office holders because they were not eligible to avail the asset declaration scheme. We have also finalised a fresh list of the biggest Benami holders in the range of 250 to 300 individuals from across the country and notices will be served from today (Thursday),” top official sources told The News. When contacted, the FBR’s official spokesman Dr Hamid Ateeq Sarwar said the FBR launched its action against benami holders across the country and decided to send out tax notices out of pending cases available with the tax machinery.

One top official disclosed that the three zones established by the FBR sent out tax notices and the officers informed them that the FBR possess information about their Benami properties or income and they are directed to reply back within a specified timeframe. If the commissioner is not satisfied from the answer then he or she will pass the assessment order and then the case will be forwarded to the adjudicating authority under the Benami law. Another top official said the Benami law came into existence after hectic consultations as the Ministry of Finance had constituted a committee under the then Additional Secretary Ismail Qureshi in 2003-04 to take stock of the situation andrecommend ways and means to overcome the increasing problem. At that time, the FBR, NAB, FIA and other regulators were consulted on benami holders. It took almost 14 years for the Parliament to pass the law in 2017. Then the FBR took almost two years to draft rules to make the Benami law operational. Now the FBR has established three zones with countrywide jurisdiction and appointed 11 officers in the new arrangement.

The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Zones of the FBR attached 6,000 kanals land owned by Chaudhry Tanveer. The orders issued to the benami owners by the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Zone-I in the case of Senator Chaudhry Tanveer said: “Whereas proceedings under section 22(1) of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act 2017 have been initiated against the concerned person. The Commissioner Inland Revenue of Zone-1 has approved under section 22(3) to provisionally attach the land registered in Rawalpindi. In view of the approval and in terms of section 22(3) read with section 5 of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act 2017, the concerned person has been prohibited and restrained until further orders from transferring of immovable propriety and all persons are prohibited from taking any benefit under such transfer of charge.” Six orders of similar kind have been issued by the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Zone in the said case. The cases would be referred to the adjudicating authority under the Act after completion of the due process. Chaudhry Tanveer’s servants Abdul Aziz, Azhar Ali, Mubin Maroof, Shahjahan Begum and Raja Shakoor were sent legal notices by the FBR informing them about the development and the consequences.

Following are the particulars of immovable properties and properties in stock and shares attached by the FBR mainly belonging to the Omni group: Immovable properties: Plaza Enterprises (Pvt) Limited, Plot No. 18/2, Civil Lines Karachi (value not available); Marshal Homes Builders Developers Pvt Limited, Plot No. 216-E Civil Lines Karachi (Rs246.9 million); Nadeem Ahmed Khan, Plot No. 122, Block 05, Clifton Karachi (value not available).

Properties in stock and shares: Al-Miftah Holding (Private) Limited, 22.64 million shares of Thatta Cement Company Limited (Rs534.93 million); Sky Pak Holding (Pvt) Limited, 21.15 million shares of Thatta Cement Company Limited (Rs871.40 million); Rising Star Holding (Pvt) Limited, 6.53 million shares of Thatta Cement Company Limited (Rs265.16 million); Seracom Stock and Capital (Pvt) Limited, 30 million preference shares of Summit Bank (Rs30 million); Parkview Stock and Capital (Pvt) Limited, 30 million preference shares of Summit Bank (Rs300 million). The FBR sources said a day earlier notices were sent to all the benamidars regarding provisional confiscation of the properties.

Our correspondent adds from Rawalpindi: While inaugurating non-stop train Sir Syed Express to ply from Rawalpindi to Karachi, Prime Minister Imran Khan resolved not to spare those who plundered the national exchequer worth billions of rupees. He said all plunderers would be made answerable.

The inauguration ceremony was also attended by Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Railway Police and other high officials including Railway chairman, managing director as well as division superintendent Rawalpindi, Syed Munawar Shah. MNA, Rashid Shafique was also present on the occasion.

The prime minister pledged that he would hold all those accountable and punish those who laundered national wealth abroad. There would be same law for everyone in Pakistan. “Those who are demanding VIP treatment in jails would be given same treatment like an ordinary prisoner,” he said. Imran Khan said the jails were meant only for poor in the past. However, he said, now the practice would change and every prisoner irrespective of any influence, position would get same treatment in jails after declaration of their crimes. He said no one would get VIP facilities anymore. Imran said sectors like PIA, power, gas, railways were running in huge losses in the past only because of corruption. “It is the cancer of corruption which makes any country poor and not because of lack of resources. Corruption also makes elite class richer at the cost of poor people,” he said.

Imran Khan referring to Ahsas Programme worth Rs200 billion said it is aimed to lift the conditions of poor segments of the country. “For the first time in country’s history all resources are being spent on the weak and poor strata of the society,” he said. The premier said establishment of 1,000 kiosks by railways would benefit the poor people, downtrodden, widows and unemployed persons. Earlier, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said Sir Syed Express would facilitate passengers besides generating revenue for Pakistan Railways. “Now the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir would be able to travel to Karachi and other southern cities of the country. The train also contains facilities of in-house television, wi-fi, cabin service, on wheel restaurant, bedding, sound system besides accessories kit.” He said. After inaugurating Sir Syed Express, the prime minister took a round of the train and got briefing from the railway minister.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan said there will be no NRO irrespective of whatever approach they adopt to save their skins. “I will make them answerable. If today, both Zardari and Nawaz Sharif bring back the looted money, the rupee would be strengthened, easing the pressure of dollar,” he said. The prime minister said during last decade, the two successive governments of PPP and PML-N had burdened the country with Rs30,000 billion debt which was around Rs6,000 billion ten years ago. He said Sharif and Zardari had become billionaires while the nation suffered. The prime minister strongly rebuffed the opposition’s claims of revengeful policy towards them, by adding when he had taken up the Panama Case in the Supreme Court, he was made a victim of vindictive policy by the previous rulers who had registered 32 FIRs against him and filed six cases in the Election Commission of Pakistan. “That can be called as vengeful approach by the PML-N government against him,” he added. He said he had answered all the questions in the Supreme Court who had declared him as ‘Sadiq’ and ‘Amin’. “I have not escaped to London but replied to every question,” he added.

Imran Khan said an unprecedented and across-the-board action was taken against the looters of national exchequer. "Bandits belonging to elite class have been taken to task and put behind bars, never done before previously," he said, adding the dream of 'New Pakistan' has started seeing the light of day. The prime minister said he would not bow before any external or internal pressure to let the 'elite national offenders' leave the country. "Talk to whichever monarch or ruler of any country, I will not let you leave without extracting from you the looted money," he said. The premier said in democracy, leaders are answerable for every deed they have committed and they do not flee from the country in the face of accountability. “It is the Naya Pakistan. There will be one Pakistan for all and the same law for all and sundry,” he said. He said those who had gobbled billion of rupees or laundered tahe national wealth abroad are demanding the ‘VIP’ treatment in jails. He sid the law minister had been directed to look into this matter as the jails should be meant for punishment worldwide. In the country, he regretted, the jails are only meant for the poor. The prime minister said he had promised with the nation that he would make all the plunderers and money launderers answerable.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday lauded the Ministry of Water and Power as the power supply in national grid reached the highest ever of 22,550MW on July 2. "Also since mid-April, the campaign against gas theft has traced and disconnected over 18,000 illegal connections, with a monetary value of over Rs2.3 billion," he said.