APD | Pakistan to sign agreement with UAE against money laundering

By APD writer Muhammad Sohail

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 14 (APD) -- Special Assistant to the Pakistani Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar on Sunday here said that the government has finalized a mutual legal assistance law to obtain evidence from foreign jurisdictions about financial crimes and mega corruption cases involving Pakistanis.

Addressing a press conference, Akbar said the law will soon be placed before the federal cabinet and it will be brought first through an ordinance and then presented before the parliament.

This law is more open and will empower the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the anti-graft body of the country, and the Federal Investigation Agency to carry out the investigations as per the international treaties, said Akbar, adding that an agreement will also be signed with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the exchange of information.

He further said that a bilateral treaty is again being ratified with the Swiss authorities which will enable Pakistan to get the details of the bank accounts opened by Pakistani nationals.

He said that Pakistan has already signed a treaty with Britain which will help speed up the investigations into different high-profile asset cases.

Akbar is scheduled to visit Britain next week where he will meet with his counterpart of national crime agency and also hold discussions on the pending requests.

Earlier this month, the government had claimed to have detected over 10,000 properties of Pakistanis worth billions of rupees in Britain and the UAE.

“Interestingly, information about half of the properties in the two countries were available with previous governments, but no action was taken because any such action could expose the rulers too,” said Akbar.

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had been sentenced for 10-years imprisonment for making real estate assets in London beyond known means of income.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)