Investments in UAE real estate: government, PPP resist proposal on probe under AML law

The treasury and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) members of National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance Thursday resisted a proposal to refer the issue of US $8 billion investment by Pakistanis in real estate sector of the UAE to the National Accountability Bureau for investigation under the anti-money laundering law (AML). The proposal was first resisted by the chairman of the subcommittee and later when it was taken to the main committee, Chairman National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance Qaiser Shah and Nafeesa Shah of the PPP opposed it.
A three-member sub-committee headed by Dr Shezra Mansib Ali Khan met here on Thursday to know from the government officials of various departments, including NAB, FIA and FBR, about the action taken by them in this regard. Asad Umar suggested that the matter was fit for referring to the NAB for investigation under the AML law in the light of disclosure of State Bank of Pakistan that it did not allow any investment in real estate sector in the UAE. However, the chairman of the committee did not agree to him and decided to put up the proposal before the main committee.
Dr Shezra Mansib Ali Khan and Asad Umar briefed the main committee about the proceedings of the sub-committee. The committee was told that State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has categorically stated that it did not allow investment in real estate sector in the UAE and investment made abroad by resident Pakistanis is illegal.
Asad Umar also complained that prima facie there was non-cooperation from government agencies as FIA initially refused to acknowledge that it carried out any investigation into the UAE investment by Pakistani residents while no one from NAB was turned up in the committee. After the committee pressed the FIA, it subsequently disclosed that three investigations were conduced into the Dubai investment.
He also stated that NAB Article 21 allows it to approach the UAE authorities and the JIT constituted by the Supreme Court has got information from the UAE under this article in the Panama Papers case. He said that NAB was the agency that can obtain information under the UN Convention of Anti-Corruption and requested the main committee to refer the matter to the NAB as this was the only way to get information from the UAE.
Nafeesa Shah of PPP and the chairman of the committee did not agree to the proposal till the report of the sub-committee was submitted to the main committee. Now the interim report of the sub-committee will be presented to the main committee to get the matter referred to NAB for a probe under the AML law.
Earlier, during the sub-committee meeting, the FIA informed the sub-committee about a list of 100 Pakistanis who have purchased properties in Dubai, the UAE. The meeting was informed that FBR, State Bank and FIA were not empowered to demand the details of Pakistanis who have invested abroad, and only NAB was the focal agency to deal with money laundering or corruption issues with other countries.
Chairman Federal Board of Revenue Tariq Pasha said that the list of 100 persons who have purchased properties in Dubai was sent to the Duabi authorities to get information. He said that FBR can only seek information about double taxation and can not rely on other source of information.