The government has directed Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), to probe the Panama Leaks.
Under the directions from government has advised FBR, SBP and SECP to investigate Panama Leak under their respective laws and jurisdictions and provide all kind of assistance to the Supreme Court’s Inquiry Commission once it is constituted and notified.
Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar has directed the FBR, SBP and SECP to initiate a probe into the Panama Papers with the directives to complete this exercise on a priority basis.
It is not yet known whether the government had allowed NAB to initiate its probe into the Panama Leaks but the Finance and Revenue Division issued official directives in this regard.
According to three separate official letters written to the FBR, SBP and SECP by the Finance Division, with reference to the discussion between Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar and the FBR chairman on the subject held on April 21, 2016, the finance minister directed the FBR chairman to verify whether all those persons having resident status as defined under the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, whose interests in offshore companies had been made public in the Panama Leaks, had fully declared the said interests in their annual tax returns available with the FBR. It was also directed that in case any of the aforementioned persons was not a filer, proceedings in accordance with the law may be initiated immediately.