Pak authorities attempt to trace assets of Chaudhrys in UK

LONDON: The Pakistani authorities have been trying to trace if Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) key coalition partners, Chadhrys of Gujrat – mainly Moonis Elahi - own any assets in the United Kingdom and the British Virgin Island (BVI).

Trusted sources have shared with The News that Pakistani government authorities made extensive inquiries to find details of assets, if any, owned directly or indirectly by Moonis Elahi, Pervaiz Elahi, Chaudhry Shujaat or any of the other family members.

It’s understood that at least two requests were sent to the British government to assist in the pursuit of assets tracing but so far the search has yielded no positive results. The federal government sent first request to the UK government’s Home Office around two years ago after the PTI and Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) entered into power coalition in Punjab and the Centre. That request was on behalf of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and another investigating agency. A similar letter was also sent to the British Virgin Islands, seeking to trace out the alleged assets of Moonis Elahi. Both the Home Office and the BVI informed Pakistani officials that they were unable to trace assets.

Sources have told The News that a new request - not by the NAB – was launched in recent months to find out if Moonis Elahi, his father, his uncle Chaudhry Shujaat, and other family members own any assets in the UK.

The pursuit is based on suspicions that Moonis Elahi owns assets in the UK and possibly elsewhere too. So far, nothing has been identified in the UK against Moonis Elahi’s name or the two senior Chaudhrys.

When contacted for his version, Moonis Elahi said he was not aware of this request. He said: “All of my assets and investments have been duly declared in my tax returns. Yes we are their coalition partners. If this is happening, I am not surprised. After a failed attempt to marginalize and persecute opposition they have decided to target their allies.”

In early 2018, the PML-Q leader Chaudhry Moonis Elahi appeared before the NAB to answer questions about his name in the Panama papers. Moonis Elahi has maintained that all his assets are declared to authorities in Pakistan.