How Mr clean Musharraf became a billionaire?
ISLAMABAD:
Under the Terms of Reference (TORs), the commission of inquiry will be able to
summon and question former military dictator Pervez Musharraf for allegedly big
wealth and transferring huge money out of Pakistan in offshore accounts, a task
which National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and other investigating agencies
couldn’t do in many years.
According to the TORs of the
commission of inquiry, the commission will examine the transfer from Pakistan
of funds which have originated from corruption, commissions or kickbacks.
The former military dictator Pervez
Musharraf accumulated billions in offshore accounts besides the property that
he has already purchased abroad or inside Pakistan but he never mentioned these
assets and accounts even at the time of assets declaration while submitting his
nomination papers during general elections 2013.
Despite having such huge chunk of
amount in his offshore accounts, neither did any investigative agency nor did
the accountability bureau question him how he got billions of rupees in his
foreign accounts. However the commission of inquiry appointed by prime minister
in the wake of Panama Leaks has a broader scope and powers which can question
ex-dictator Pervez Musharraf from where he got billions of rupees which are
kept in his offshore accounts. Musharraf, who retired as army chief, till
recently was in possession of around Rs2,156 million net cash in his offshore
bank accounts besides other moveable and immovable property, but in his
official papers submitted with the Election Commission, he declared that his
property worth was mere Rs626 million.
A source, having a close association
with the former dictator, confided to The News that Musharraf had at least
seven to ten offshore accounts in Dubai and London, containing huge cash in
dollars, pounds and dirhams worth Rs2,156 million rupees in 2012. According to
the source, besides having foreign bank accounts, Musharraf has also made huge
saving investments abroad to earn large profits.
However, according to the assets
declaration which former military dictator submitted to the ECP, while filing
nomination papers, the total value of his assets which he had mentioned in his
assets declaration form was almost Rs626 million which included net assets,
Rs1.96 million shares of Bank Al-Falah in the name of his wife, 170 tolas gold
jewellery, Rs6 million furniture and Rs8 million personal expenditure. However,
he has not mentioned a single onshore foreign bank account, letting offshore
bank accounts aside.
There is no indication as to who
funded him and how he became fabulously rich but the retired general had
accumulated billions in offshore accounts besides the property that he had
already purchased abroad or inside Pakistan.
In his memoir - In the Line of Fire
- Musharraf admitted that he had come from a really humble background where
they did not have enough money but now he paid at least half a million rupees
as monthly salary to his personal staff residing inside Pakistan.
According to the source, besides
having foreign bank accounts, Musharraf has also made huge saving investments
abroad to earn large profits. The source said that in just one Dubai-based
online trading service — MMA — Musharraf had $1,600,000 (Rs145 million) last
year. Musharraf’s account number, according to the source in this company, is
AV77777.
In the Union National Bank, which is
an investment bank in Abu Dhabi, Musharraf and his spouse Sehba Musharraf, have
a joint account No4002000304, in which the amount mid-last year was UAE Dirhams
17,000,000 (Rs391 million).
In the same bank — the Union
National Bank — they have another joint account No400200315, which is a dollar
account. This particular account last year contained $535,325 (Rs48 million).
In yet another UAE Dirham
account in the same financial institution — the Union National Bank — Sehba and
Musharraf had almost UAE Dirhams 7,600,000 (Rs174 million) last year. The
account No is 4003006700. In the fourth account, No4003006711, in the Union
National Bank, the duo had UAE Dirhams 8,000,000 (Rs184 million). In the fifth
account No4003006722 in the same bank — the Union National Bank — Musharraf and
his wife had $8,000,000 (Rs728 million). In the sixth account No 4003006733,
Sehba Musharraf and Pervez Musharraf had UAE Dirhams 8,000,000 (Rs184 million)
last year. In the seventh account No4003006744, in the same Union National
Bank, the duo holds UAE Dirhams 8,000,000 (Rs184 million). In their eighth
account in the same bank — the Union National Bank Abu Dhabi — the duo had
$1,300,000 (Rs118 million).
During the early months of his
taking over as a military dictator following his coup against the Nawaz Sharif
government, General Musharraf made his wealth public, which hardly contained
any cash but only some plots in different parts of the country. Musharraf
claimed to be the Mr Clean of Pakistan. How did he become a billionaire is a
million dollar question? Owing to the broader scope of the commission of
inquiry and its power mentioned in the TORs, the commission is fully empowered
to summon him and ask him the details of his offshore accounts, a task which
couldn’t be done by the accountability bureau and investigating agency.
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