ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry said corruption and money laundering were the “most important problem” for countries like Pakistan after a massive leak from one of the world’s largest private financial institutions exposed the hidden wealth of hundreds of Pakistan nationals.
A cross-border media investigation broke over the weekend claiming Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-largest bank, had held tens of billions of dollars of ill-gotten funds.
The investigation, coordinated by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), unites 47 different media outlets worldwide including France’s Le Monde and The Guardian in Britain.
This latest project, dubbed “SwissLeaks” by the OCCRP, arose out of a leak of data to Germany’s Suddeutsche Zeitung newspapers a little over a year ago.
The leak included information on more than 18,000 bank accounts dating back to the 1940s and up to the 2010s belonging to 37,000 individuals or companies, said the OCCRP.
“The story of Panama, Pandora and now Swiss accounts — first steal money then send it out of the country,” Chaudhry said in a tweet on Monday. “Corruption and money laundering is the most important problem of countries like Pakistan.”
پانامہ،پنڈورا اوراب سوئس اکاؤنٹس کی کہانی۔۔پہلے پیسے چوری کرو پھر ملک سے باہر بھیج دو ،کرپشن اور منی لانڈرنگ پاکستان جیسے ملکوں کااہم ترین مسئلہ ہے، @ImranKhanPTI اس مسئلہ پرمسلسل آواز اٹھا رہے ہیں کہ امیر ملک غریب ملکوں کے اس استحصال کو روکیں،اب سارےMoney Laundererاتحادبنارہےہیں
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) February 21, 2022
Prime Minister Imran Khan “is continuously raising voice on this issue that rich countries to stop this exploitation from poor countries.”
The latest leak follows the Panama Papers in 2016, the Paradise Papers in 2017 and the Pandora Papers last year.
Last year, the “Pandora Papers” leak revealed the names of about 700 Pakistanis, including current cabinet members, who were allegedly holding millions of dollars in hidden wealth abroad.
In 2017, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was ousted by the Supreme Court over allegations of wealth revealed in the Panama Papers.
