The Leader of the House in Senate Senator Shibli Faraz has stated that money laundering worth $500 million annually was occurring in the information technology sector.
While expressing his helplessness over the issue, the senator stated that the illegal activities were happening due to collusion between Customs officials and private-sector stakeholders.
According to a report in Express Tribune, Shibli Faraz made these comments during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance on Thursday, with Pakistan People’s Party Senator Farooq Naek presiding over the meeting.
Senator Shibli Faraz stated that $500 million worth of money laundering was occurring in the IT sector against one tariff line. This, he claimed, was causing an annual revenue loss of Rs8 billion.
The senator apprised the attendees of the meeting that the Federal Board of Revenue, through its Weboc system, had come up with a figure of $484 million for the money laundering that was taking place in the IT sector.
Shibli Faraz also claimed that FBR officials and five to six people of the private sector were involved in the money laundering, adding that he had shared with FBR documentary evidence of the illegal act but no action had been taken.
The senator was of the view that this could create problems for Pakistan, especially at a time when the country was under scrutiny by the Financial Action Task Force.