The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has stepped up efforts to combat trade-based money laundering, which was camouflaged under the guise of solar panel imports.
The FBR is actively working to recover the over-invoicing amounts linked to these transactions, well-informed sources told ProPakistani.
The Financial Intelligence Unit of the FBR has initiated cooperation with the Customs Administration of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Singapore, and China in an attempt to unearth the complex network of illicit financial activities.
Solar panels imported from China were at the heart of this extensive money laundering scheme, with a staggering sum of more than Rs. 18 billion being funneled to various destinations, including the UAE, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United States.
According to FBR reports, importers siphoned off approximately Rs. 8 billion to the UAE, over Rs. 6 billion to Singapore, and around Rs. 2 billion to Switzerland. These transactions were conducted outside the purview of the regulator.
Over the past five years, money has been transferred to no less than 10 other countries by engaging in the import of solar panels from China. This raises serious concerns about the scale of the illicit financial activities that have plagued these transactions.
FBR’s post-clearance audit officials have identified clear violations of foreign exchange regulations, which further confirm the need for immediate intervention. Importers, it seems, not only ordered solar panels from China but also remitted large sums of money to foreign countries, flouting foreign exchange regulations.
In response to these findings, the FBR has formally registered cases of over-invoicing and trade-based money laundering against the implicated importers.
Furthermore, the tax regulator has already entered into a cooperative Anti-Money Laundering Agreement with the Financial Intelligence Unit of the UAE. Under this agreement, the FBR has formally requested the cooperation and support of the Financial Intelligence Unit of the UAE in its efforts to combat the extensive network of trade-based money laundering.
