Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) jointly raided Bahria Town’s offices in the federal capital, confiscating vital documents as part of a comprehensive inquiry into presumed money laundering and unlawful financial networks.
The operation resulted in the seizure of sensitive documents and the arrest of some Bahria Town employees, said FIA officials. Initial investigations indicated the presence of a large-scale hawala-hundi and money laundering network allegedly connected with property tycoon Malik Riaz and his son Ali Riaz.
The investigators revealed that three large money laundering cases have been traced to Bahria Town:
- From 2016 through to January 2025, transactions of Rs1.58 trillion.
- Between 2015 and March 2025, transfers of Rs1 billion.
- Between 2005 and 2015, estimated laundering of Rs24 billion.
The officials maintained that the evidence gathered is consistent with earlier cases in the NAB’s watchlist, which led the bureau to initiate reopening all pending inquiries against the real estate giant.
Also read: Malik Riaz announces shutdown of Bahria Town operations across Pakistan
The FIA also unveiled information regarding alleged benami properties owned by the housing society with an estimated value of hundreds of billions of rupees. Both organizations confirmed the investigations have been escalated and day-to-day legal proceedings will start next week.
Earlier, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had rejected petitions against NAB’s proposed auction of Bahria Town properties, paving the way for the auctioning of five properties in Rawalpindi and one in Islamabad. The auction is to be conducted on August 7 at NAB’s Islamabad office, Sector G-6/1.
The properties are being auctioned off after Malik Riaz had been declared an absconder in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case. Bahria Town Chairman Malik Riaz Hussain responded by saying the company was willing to go for arbitration and abide by any ruling, as long as there was a chance for “serious dialogue and a dignified solution.”
