ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s leading anti-graft body said on Saturday that it had frozen $4.5 million in foreign bank accounts allegedly owned by the chief executive officer of top real estate firm Bahria Town and his wife, accusing the firm of laundering crime proceeds abroad.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is investigating Bahria Town founder Malik Riaz Hussain in several cases in which he is accused of money laundering and using state land for private housing societies.
Hussain, one of Pakistan’s wealthiest and most influential businessmen, has denied any wrongdoing. Hussain has said in the past that he is being pressured due to “political motives” and is facing financial losses as NAB pursues cases against his property development projects across Pakistan.
“In a significant move against international money laundering, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Karachi has successfully attached two foreign bank accounts belonging to accused Ahmed Ali Riaz and Mubashra Ali Malik located in Silver Bank, Mauritius,” NAB’s press release said.
Riaz is Hussain’s son and the chief executive officer of Bahria Town, while Mubashra is his wife.
The bureau said its probe established that M/s Bahria Town Pvt Ltd. utilized an illicit Hawala/Hundi network within Pakistan to launder crime proceeds out of the country.
“These funds were initially transferred to the UAE and subsequently laundered to Mauritius, where the crime proceeds originating from Pakistan were placed in joint bank accounts,” the anti-graft body said.
NAB said that these accounts had $4.5 million in them, adding that they were legally frozen as part of an ongoing asset recovery pursuit. NAB said it has initiated legal proceedings through the foreign office and is at an “advanced stage” for the forfeiture and repatriation of the funds in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010.
“This action reaffirms NAB’s commitment to pursuing illicit assets across jurisdictions and securing their recovery through international cooperation,” the anti-graft body said.
The development takes place after NAB Chairman Lt. Gen. (retd.) Nazir Butt said in April that Interpol has issued Red Notices for Hussain and his son at the anti-graft body’s request.
Butt vowed that NAB would bring Riaz back from the UAE, where he is currently residing, to face charges of money laundering worth over Rs700 billion ($2.5 billion).
Riaz was declared a proclaimed offender in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case in 2024. The case involves allegations that former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, during Khan’s premiership from 2018 to 2022, were gifted land by Hussain as a bribe for illegal favors.
Riaz has denied any wrongdoing in the case.
