ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Friday provided details of assets belonging to former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to an anti-graft tribunal.
The tribunal is looking into the NAB’s request to auction Dar’s movable and immovable properties since he fled the country last October after the bureau filed a case against him for allegedly accumulating assets beyond his known sources of income.
He had left Pakistan on a special plane to attend a regional economic conference, but instead of returning, he flew to the UK. He has not returned to Pakistan since.
An accountability court declared Dar an absconder in the case last December due to his failure to stand trial.
He contested Senate elections earlier this year and secured another six-year term in office. But when he did not heed a request by Pakistani authorities to return and face the charges against him, the Supreme Court suspended his Senate membership and the Interior Ministry issued a warrant against him.
While Dar continues to insist that he is not in good health, a video of him roaming the streets of London in August went viral on social media, angering his political rivals.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice Saqib Nisar expressed his displeasure at the state’s inability to bring an absconder to justice, and instructed relevant authorities to extradite him from Britain.
Subsequently, officials sent a letter to the passport issuance authority to cancel the travel documents of Dar and his wife Tabassum Ishaq.
The NAB on Thursday asked Judge Muhammad Bashir, who also heard the corruption reference against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, to auction the houses, plots and vehicles owned by Dar and his dependents.
The bureau believes these properties are worth 830 million Pakistani rupees ($6.69 million), and may fetch more if auctioned.
NAB provides details of Dar’s assets to anti-graft tribunal
NAB provides details of Dar’s assets to anti-graft tribunal
- The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) wants to auction Dar’s movable and immovable properties
- NAB filed last year a case against Dar for allegedly accumulating assets beyond his known sources of income
Pakistan regulator amends law to facilitate capital raising by listed companies
- The amendments address challenges faced by listed companies when raising further capital from existing shareholders through a rights issue
- Previously, listed companies were prohibited from announcing a rights issue if the company, officials or shareholders had any overdue amounts
KARACHI: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has notified amendments to the Companies (Further Issue of Shares) Regulations 2020 to facilitate capital raising by listed companies while maintaining adequate disclosure requirements for investors, it announced on Monday,
The amendments address challenges faced by listed companies when raising further capital from existing shareholders through a rights issue. Previously, listed companies were prohibited from announcing a rights issue if the company, its sponsors, promoters, substantial shareholders, or directors had any overdue amounts or defaults appearing in their Credit Information Bureau (CIB) report.
This restriction constrained financially stressed yet viable companies from raising capital, even in circumstances where existing shareholders were willing to support revival, restructuring, or continuation of operations, according to the SECP.
“Under the amended framework, the requirement for a clean CIB report will not apply if the relevant persons provide a No Objection Certificate (NOC) regarding the proposed rights issue from the concerned financial institution(s),” the regulator said.
The notification of the amendments follows a consultative process in which the SECP sought feedback from market stakeholders, including listed companies, issue consultants, professional bodies, industry associations, law firms, and capital market institutions.
The amendments are expected to enhance market confidence, improve access to capital for listed companies, and strengthen transparency within the rights issue framework, according to the SECP.
“To ensure transparency and protect investors’ interests, companies in such cases must make comprehensive disclosures in the rights offer document,” the regulator said.
“These disclosures must include details of any defaults or overdue amounts, ongoing recovery proceedings, and the status of any debt restructuring.”
The revised regulations strike an “appropriate balance” between facilitating corporate rehabilitation and enabling investors to make informed investment decisions, the SECP added.
