Three convicted in Bahria Town foreign exchange case

ISLAMABAD: A local court on Thursday convicted three men, including a retired military officer and a senior Bahria Town executive, for illegally transferring funds abroad for Bahria Town projects in violation of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Nasaruminallah Baloch sentenced Bahria Town Vice Chief Executive Colonel (retd) Khalilur Rehman, hawala operator Imran Kaka and property dealer Mushtaq Ahmed to one year in prison each, along with a fine of Rs500,000 after finding them guilty of sending money overseas through illegal channels instead of authorised banking systems.

According to the prosecution, the accused used unauthorised means to transfer funds abroad for various Bahria Town projects, breaching the country's foreign exchange laws.

The conviction comes months after the same court found Col (retd) Rehman guilty in a separate money laundering case investigated by the Federal Investigation Agency's Anti-Money Laundering Circle. He was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, fined Rs25 million and ordered to forfeit assets acquired through the laundering of nearly Rs1.6 billion.

In its detailed verdict in that case, the court ruled that Rehman had employed layered financial transactions and third parties to disguise the origin of illicit funds, describing the laundering operation as systematic and causing significant economic harm.

The latest judgment follows a series of actions against Bahria Town and its founder Malik Riaz. Earlier this week, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) took physical possession of Karachi's Bahria Icon Tower, estimated to be worth around Rs100 billion, as part of an ongoing anti-money laundering investigation.

In recent months, NAB has also frozen 3,150 acres of land acquired for Bahria Town in Jamshoro district, the 67-acre villa of Malik Riaz's son Ali Riaz, and four other high-value Bahria Town properties on the directions of an accountability court.