ISLAMABAD :In a high-profile breakthrough against financial crimes, Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has frozen offshore bank accounts holding USD 4.5 million in Mauritius linked to Bahria Town's management. According to official NAB sources, the funds represent the proceeds of crime, illicitly channeled out of Pakistan through undocumented hundi and hawala networks.
Accountability Court Approves Freezing of Ahmed Ali Riaz & Mubashera Malik's Accounts
The institutional asset-recovery operation was executed under the stringent provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) 2010, following formal authorization and legal clearance from the Accountability Court in Karachi.
The investigative bureau targeted two offshore corporate accounts maintained at Silver Bank in Mauritius. These joint accounts are heavily tied to prime suspects Ahmed Ali Riaz and Mubashera Ali Malik.
The Modus Operandi: Transnational Money Laundering Route Exposed
The anti-graft watchdog uncovered a highly structural, multi-jurisdictional money laundering route utilized to layer and integrate the illicit wealth:
The UAE Transnational Route: The funds were initialy smuggled out of Pakistan via parallel illicit hawala channels into the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Offshore Layering: From the UAE, the capital underwent multiple financial transactions to mask its origin before being integrated into the financial system of Mauritius.
Joint Exploitation: The laundered wealth was then safely parked into high-value joint bank accounts at Silver Bank, Mauritius.
"The accounts currently hold an audited balance of USD 4.5 million. Under the global asset recovery and international judicial assistance protocols, these funds have been officially frozen," a senior NAB official confirmed.
Repatriation of Funds Enters Final Phase via Ministry of Foreign Affairs
NAB has formally initiated international legal proceedings through Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to repatriate the seized millions. Legal cooperation frameworks with Mauritian regulatory bodies are underway, and the final seizure and repatriation of the wealth under AMLA 2010 metrics are entering the conclusive stages.
The bureau reiterated its unyielding stance on white-collar crime, asserting that this international operation reflects its strategic mandate to hunt down stolen sovereign assets globally and utilize diplomatic, cross-border alliances to secure absolute asset recovery.