Corruption, money laundering reaching new high in Pak under Imran Khan govt

Under the current Imran-Khan govt, corruption and money laundering are the 'most important issues faced by Pakistan, local media reported.

Under the current Imran-Khan government, corruption and money laundering are the 'most important issues faced by Pakistan, local media reported.

Notably, a leak of data from a leading Swiss bank has revealed information about 600 accounts linked to 1400 Pakistani citizens. The leaked account holders include several key politicians and generals, including the ex-ISI chief, General Akhtar Abdur Rahman Khan, according to data from Credit Suisse, an investment banking firm registered in Switzerland.

Following this, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Monday acknowledged the issues of corruption and money laundering in Pakistan, The Express Tribune reported.

"Panama, Pandora and now the story of Swiss accounts . . . First, steal the [public] money and then move it abroad," the media outlet quoted him as saying.

However, Credit Suisse's data leak is not the first incident to have triggered a debate on these issues in Pakistan. The 2016 Panama Papers, the 2017 Paradise Papers and the 2021 Pandora Papers all shed light on the pervasive problem of corruption and money laundering in the country.

Meanwhile, busting of the multi-national money-laundering and human trafficking racket run by Pakistanis in Paris has raised serious questions about Pakistan's written commitments to the anti-terrorist-financing watchdog, Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which is set to hold its plenary session, said a media report.

There is considerable fear that a significant part of funds transferred by this gang would have been utilised by terrorist and extremist groups in Pakistan, which rely on "informal" channels to fund their activities, Geopolitica.info reported.