NBP chief defends his firm named in Pandora list

KARACHI: The name of Arif Usmani, president National Bank of Pakistan, has appeared in the list published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) under 'Pandora's Papers' as one of the Pakistanis' who own off-shore companies.

As part of his submissions to the FBR as a returning Pakistani, Usmani declared the existence of "SASA Partners Inc. BVI" to all relevant authorities as per applicable laws. Usmani served for over 26 years abroad during which time the assets were acquired and no funds were ever transferred from Pakistan for these assets.

Prominent members of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's government, donors to his party and family members of the country's powerful military generals have moved millions of dollars of wealth through offshore companies, a new investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) alleges.

Khan, who rose to power in 2018 on the back of promises to arrest Pakistan's "corrupt" political elites, was not personally named in the newly leaked documents, dubbed the Pandora Papers,.

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Two members of Khan's cabinet - Water Resources Minister Moonis Elahi and Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin - were prominent in the leaks, alongside more than 700 other Pakistani citizens, including family members of several high-ranking military officials, donors to Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party and opposition political leaders' families.

The ICIJ's investigation is based on more than 11.9 million confidential files leaked from 14 offshore financial services firms.

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