Govt in touch with UAE for Malik Riaz’s extradition through legal route: NAB
The federal government is reaching out to the United Arab Emirates regarding the extradition of property tycoon Malik Riaz through legal avenues, the country’s accountability watchdog said on Tuesday.
Riaz, the owner of Bahria Town and his son Ali Malik, who are currently said to be in the UAE, are declared proclaimed offenders in the Al-Qadir Trust case. On January 9, 2024, an accountability court froze the properties of five co-accused in the case, including the father and son.
In a cryptic post on social media last year, the property tycoon complained that he was facing “pressure” to take a political side and was facing financial losses, but vowed not to be used as a “pawn for political motives”.
The statement was out of character for the Bahria Town owner, who is considered well-connected with political parties, media and the country’s civil and military establishment.
He has many past cases alleging the use of land acquisition tactics for his real estate projects. He and his firm have also been at the centre of multiple court cases; most recently being ordered by the Supreme Court to pay the amount the real estate developer owed to the Sindh government for the acquisition of land for Bahria Town Karachi.
He was thrust into the limelight again recently with the conviction of PTI founder and prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse in the Al-Qadir Trust case with the party complaining why the other co-accused in the case were not being pursued. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar had said on Saturday that legal consultation was ongoing on how to bring the absconders back and what avenues would be used for that.
A press release issued by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) today said the watchdog was conducting inquiries and investigations against the Bahria Town owner and his associates for “fraud, deceptive practices and cheating public at large”.
It said it had “cogent and credible information about the fact that Mr Malik Riaz and his accomplices have not only illegally possessed/occupied state-owned land but also land belonging to private persons situated at Karachi, Takht-Pari, Rawalpindi and New Murree.
“He is using these lands for developing housing societies without obtaining mandatory/required regulatory permissions/no objection certificates and has committed fraud against the state and general public at large to the tune of billions of rupees.”
NAB alleged that the property tycoon was developing housing societies under the name of Bahria Town “in a duplicitous manner” in other cities, including Peshawar and Jamshoro, by “illegally possessing/occupying land” and failing to procure the same mandatory regulatory permissions and legal documents.
It added that he continued to “defraud the general public at large by selling them plots/files in these illegal housing societies” despite neither he nor Bahria Town having a “good/clear title” to any of the lands in “these illegal housing societies”.
NAB recounted that he was currently an absconder in the Al-Qadir Trust case and wanted by the court with the watchdog already having frozen innumerable assets of his and Bahria Town.
“Mr Malik Riaz is residing in Dubai, UAE. He has recently launched a project for the construction of luxury apartments in Dubai, UAE. The general public at large is hereby advised and warned to refrain from investing in the stated project. If the general public at large invests in the stated project, their actions would tantamount to money laundering, for which they may face criminal/ legal proceedings,” NAB warned.
The property tycoon did not address the watchdog’s chargesheet against him on his X account.