ISLAMABAD: According to local news media, which cited sources, a fact-finding investigation into the Pandora Papers allegations is nearing completion.
The Prime Minister’s Inspection Commission (PMIC) received responses from more than 200 Pakistanis identified in the Pandora Papers, including public officials and bureaucrats.
The identities of 700 Pakistani nationals were in the Pandora Papers, but according to the sources, the PMIC has only received the names of 240 people from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
According to the sources, 40 of the 240 people being investigated by the panel are public officials and bureaucrats, and the majority of them have denied charges of money laundering and tax evasion.
If the commission receives more names from the consortium, they will be probed, they said. The first part of the fact-finding investigation is expected to be completed by the end of January.
The consortium provided the commission with inadequate information, causing the former to have problems validating the names of several individuals, according to the sources. Thirty to thirty-five of the 240 names could not be verified.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), and the Federal Board of Revenue are assisting the PMIC in its investigation (FBR).
Imran Khan, Pakistan’s prime minister, has ordered a probe into the Pakistanis identified in the Pandora Papers.
