ISLAMABAD: The Nat­i­onal Accountability Bur­eau (NAB) has started the process to extradite property tycoon Malik Riaz and his son Ali Malik from the UAE, a source familiar with the matter told Dawn.

The property tycoon will be extradited from the UAE under international anti-money laundering laws and the Vienna Convention, a source in the NAB said on Tuesday.

The accountability wat­c­hdog has approached UAE authorities for the extradition of Mr Riaz, who is believed to be untou­c­hable due to his influence.

The source negated PTI’s stance that Mr Riaz was not accused of corruption by the UK authorities in the 190 million pound case.

The source quoted the decision of UK’s Royal Court of Justice made in November 2021 as saying: “While rejecting the app­eal, the UK court judgement notes that the conclusion of the Home Office that Mr Riaz and his son have been involved with corruption and financial/commercial misconduct was founded on their invo­l­vement in the affairs of Bahria Town — a company owned and run by the app­ellants’ family and desc­ribed as the largest property developer in Asia.”

The source said that the UK Home Office cancelled the visa of Mr Riaz and his son was taken after revie­wing the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) investigation and settlement with Mr Riaz in 2019, Supreme Court judgements in Bahria Town cases; JIT’s report on money deposited by Bahria Town into fake accounts and a NAB reference filed in April 2019 against Bahria Town.

Earlier this month, the accountability watchdog issued a statement saying that it has decided to extradite Mr Riaz and warned people against investing in his UAE-based company, Bahria Town Dubai.

In 2018, Mr Riaz launched a joint venture with the UAE-based company Dhabi Group to develop a $20 billion real estate project in Dubai.

The project, named Bahria Town Dubai, aimed to create a luxurious and modern community with residential, commercial, and entertainment options.

The project’s launch ceremony was recently held in Dubai.

The NAB has accused Mr Riaz’s Bahria Town of illegally occupying public and private land for its housing projects across the country.

Mr Riaz is believed to be residing in Dubai these days to avoid legal action against him in Pakistan.

Al Qadir Trust ‘non-functional’

Meanwhile, PML-N’s Senator Irfan Siddiqui has said that Al Qadir Trust does not exist and has been non-functional since 2020.

In a statement, he said Al Qadir University was registered in Dec 2019. Prior to it, Mr Riaz transferred 458 kanal of land to the university in the name of Zulfi Bukhari in April of the same year.

Later, the land was transferred in the name of the trust and PTI jailed founder Imran Khan gave Rs50,000 donation while Mr Riaz transferred over Rs280m to the trust’s bank account.

The senator claimed that in July 2020 Mr Ali transferred 240 kanals of land in Banigala to Farah Gogi, a friend of Bushra Bibi, the wife of Imran Khan.

He said the trust remained registered only for eight months, as after NAB’s intervention, the trust’s registration was cancelled and remained that way to date.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2025