Dubai May 14 2024: A staggering amount of leaked property data, encompassing over 23,000 properties reportedly owned by Pakistani nationals in Dubai up to the spring of 2022, is now readily accessible to journalists from numerous media outlets worldwide.
This leaked data offers intricate insights into hundreds of thousands of properties in Dubai, including details regarding ownership or usage, primarily from the years 2020 and 2022. The information was acquired by the Center for Advanced Defence Studies (C4ADS), a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization dedicated to researching international crime and conflict.
Subsequently, the data was shared with Norwegian financial outlet E24 and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which orchestrated an investigative initiative involving media partners from across the globe. Termed ‘Dubai Unlocked’, this collaborative effort comprises 74 partners spanning 58 countries, with Dawn being among the participants.
However, it’s crucial to note that a mere presence in the leaked data doesn’t inherently imply involvement in financial misconduct or tax evasion. Additionally, the data lacks certain details such as residency status, sources of income, tax declarations related to rental income, or capital gains. Indeed, several individuals contacted by Dawn regarding their properties affirmed that they had been duly declared to tax authorities.
Nevertheless, the data paints a strikingly contrasting picture. Pakistan, a developing nation grappling with economic challenges and seeking assistance from international lenders and allies, features prominently in this dataset. While the leak identifies 17,000 Pakistani citizens as property owners in 2022, experts utilizing the data alongside supplementary sources estimate the actual number of Pakistani residential property owners in Dubai to be around 22,000.
These experts further speculate that the combined value of apartments and villas owned by Pakistanis in Dubai may have exceeded $10 billion by early 2022. However, with property prices surging by more than 25% over the past two years, the current value of Pakistani-owned residential properties in Dubai could now surpass $12.5 billion.
Notable figures linked to these properties include the offspring of President Asif Ali Zardari, namely Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, and Aseefa Bhutto Zardari; Mohsin Naqvi’s wife, Ms. Ashraf; Sharjeel Memon, Sindh Information Minister; MNA Ikhtiar Baig; Hussain Nawaz, son of PML-N president Nawaz Sharif; Saad Siddique Bajwa, son of retired General Qamar Javed Bajwa; Senator Faisal Vawda; Sardar Sanaullah Zehri; Akhtar Mengal; and PML-N MNA Ehsanul Haq Bajwa.
Many of the properties associated with these individuals have reportedly been declared. Malik Amjed Zubair Tiwana, chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), asserts the government’s commitment to ensuring that those eligible to pay taxes on rental income or capital value in Pakistan fulfill their obligations. He emphasizes that citizenship holds no significance in tax law, with taxation linked to residency status.
Furthermore, Ali Rahim, a tax lawyer and former president of the Karachi Tax Bar Association, elaborates on how tax laws apply to Pakistanis with overseas assets. Resident Pakistanis are liable to pay tax in Pakistan on their worldwide income, with provisions for tax credits against payments made abroad. Additionally, residents with assets abroad valued over Rs100 million are subject to a one percent tax on their current exchange rate. This law is currently under legal scrutiny in high courts and the Supreme Court.
In contrast, non-resident or overseas Pakistanis are only obligated to pay tax on income generated within Pakistan, without the requirement to file wealth statements or declare overseas assets.
