Pakistan Blocks Passports of Malik Riaz and Other Absconders in £190 Million Corruption Case

Islamabad: Days after initiating the process to extradite Bahria Town owner Malik Riaz from the United Arab Emirates, the government on Thursday blocked the passports of the property tycoon and other accused individuals who have been declared absconders in the £190 million corruption case.

Earlier this month, former prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, were sentenced in the Al-Qadir Trust case by an accountability court in Islamabad after a lengthy trial.

Besides Malik Riaz, his son Ali Riaz, former accountability adviser Barrister Shahzad Akbar, and Farhat Shahzadi—a close associate of Bushra Bibi—have also had their passports blocked.

An interior ministry official told Dawn that the action was taken at the request of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). None of these individuals are currently in Pakistan.

Malik Riaz, a key figure in Pakistan’s real estate sector before facing legal troubles, is presently in the UAE, where he is planning to develop ‘Bahria Town Dubai,’ a luxury housing project. NAB has already warned citizens against investing in the project, stating that it may be considered ‘money laundering’ by the government.

Farhat Shahzadi reportedly left for Dubai on April 5, 2022, just days before Imran Khan was ousted as prime minister through a no-confidence motion. Meanwhile, Mirza Shahzad Akbar resigned as accountability adviser in January 2022 and left for the United Kingdom before his name was placed on the Exit Control List.

The government’s move is part of broader efforts to bring back individuals implicated in corruption cases and hold them accountable under the law.