USD 5.3 billion taken out of Pakistan illegally: Govt

Assets worth USD 5.3 billion have been taken out of Pakistan through illegal means, the government said on Monday.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability, Shahzad Akbar, disclosed the figures at a press briefing here.

"We have so far identified more than 5,000 fake accounts which were used for money laundering," he said detailing the progress made by Assets Recovery Unit.

The Unit was set up by Prime Minister Imran Khan to bring illegal money stashed abroad.

"We have found that assets worth USD 5.3 billion were accumulated abroad through alleged money laundering which is equal to Rs 700 billion," he said.

He said the focus was on 10 countries including the UK and the UAE.

"In Dubai alone, the land authority claims that Pakistanis are the third largest owners of property," Akbar said.

He also said that this amount was only tip of the iceberg and more would be unearthed in the ongoing investigations.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on media Iftikhar Durrani said Pakistanis made overseas properties worth USD 15 billion in the last 10 years.