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Business Recorder
3 days ago
- Politics
- Business Recorder
PTI demands Asif name ‘corrupt' bureaucrats
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday issued a sharp challenge to Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, demanding that he name the bureaucrats and elites he accused of stashing billions abroad – or be held accountable for what the party called 'reckless and rhetorical mudslinging.' Talking to journalists, the PTI spokesman Sheikh Waqas Akram did not mince words, slamming Asif's recent claim that over half of the country's bureaucracy had moved wealth overseas – including property purchases in Portugal and the Gulf – as 'whistle blowing without the whistle.' 'If these are real allegations, then where are the names? Where is the action?' Akram questioned. 'Otherwise, this is just political theatre and a dangerous one at that.' The party drew attention to the Dubai Unlocked investigation by the OCCRP in 2024, which exposed more than 17,000 Pakistanis – including senior bureaucrats, retired military officers, and politicians – holding over 23,000 properties in Dubai alone. 'Everyone saw the leak. Everyone saw who benefited. But instead of accountability, we got radio silence,' said Akram. 'Now Khawaja Asif lobs accusations with no substance, no follow-up, and no consequences. It's not just irresponsible – it's insulting to the public.' The PTI argued that such allegations, vague and unsubstantiated, only serve to further erode public trust in state institutions already viewed as opaque and unaccountable. 'The bureaucracy has long operated in the shadows – shielded, protected, and rarely questioned,' said Akram. 'But when even a sitting minister admits there's rot, why isn't anyone asking for proof or demanding reform.' He added that if Asif's claims are false, he must be censured for defaming the civil service. If they are true, then silence from the government and judiciary is 'damning in itself.' Turning to the issue of security, PTI took aim at the federal government's 'habitual buck-passing,' particularly in the wake of rising militant violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Responding to State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry, who blamed provincial governments for the deteriorating situation, Akram fired back: 'Maryam Nawaz should first explain why katcha dacoits still control large swathes of Punjab. And Murad Ali Shah needs to clean up Sindh before anyone lectures KP.' PTI criticized Islamabad for failing to release promised funds, for neglecting border management, and for undermining provincial autonomy – all while pointing fingers at provinces expected to manage the fallout. Akram reiterated PTI's firm opposition to any new military campaigns in the erstwhile tribal belt, warning that past operations left behind broken communities, displaced families, and deepening mistrust. 'If the rulers are confident in their strategy, they should first leave their fortified bunkers and meet the people who've lived through the consequences,' he said. Pakistan's slide to second on the Global Terrorism Index, just behind Burkina Faso, was cited by PTI as evidence of institutional breakdown – not militant resurgence. 'This is the cost of a system that refuses to fix itself,' Akram said. He ended with a sweeping indictment of what he called a 'fascist regime,' denouncing the imprisonment of Imran Khan, and describing the current government as an 'illegitimate order held together by fear, fraud, and force.' 'The country cannot move forward when its institutions protect privilege instead of justice,' he warned. 'The people are watching and they know who emptied the coffers.' Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
4 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Off to Portugal!
Listen to article Portugal is the new green pasture for all those who want to abandon Pakistan, but at the altar of its national exchequer. The revelation from a cabinet minister that hordes of bureaucrats and who's who are acquiring citizenship of the southern European country on the Iberian Peninsula is not shocking. Pakistan is infected with brain drain, and all those who feel that they are lacking in social mobility despite possessing the necessary talent and education are on their way out. The point, nonetheless, here under debate is that how come the civil servants within their ''lawful'' income, hardly enough to make ends meet, afford the luxury of investing overseas in real estate, and bid adieu to their homeland without any retribution. That is tantamount to assured corruption and failure of the system to check the black sheep for their misdeeds. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif's spilling the beans should be read in conjunction with the Panama and Dubai Leaks, wherein several of his own party stalwarts and those of the PPP were named for possessing offshore properties. So is the case with hundreds of former military officers, bankers, politicians and, of course, judicial officers. It is a documented fact in the annals of parliament that, at least, 22,000 bureaucrats hold dual nationality in contravention of the law of the land. An investigative OCCRP report claimed that more than 17,000 Pakistani nationals owned some 23,000 residential properties in Dubai. This messy state of affairs is a blot on governance and testifies that robbing the exchequer is a new-normal, otherwise it is next to impossible to stash money in foreign accounts with impunity. Laws and legislations are merely for window-dressing, and there is no prosecution, per se. This is a crime against a nation which is reeling under abject poverty and whose 55 per cent populace is devoid of basic civic amenities such as health and education. One hopes this disclosure from the pinnacle in power will lead to some stringent action, and a genuine phase of accountability will see the light of the day.
OC Media
04-08-2025
- Business
- OC Media
British lawyer fined for failing to ‘adequately vet' funds linked to Azerbaijani official
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) has reported that a British lawyer was fined £32,500 ($42,000) for 'failing to adequately vet' funds and linked to Azerbaijan's former National Security Minister, Eldar Mahmudov. On Friday, the OCCRP reported that lawyer Rory Fordyce was fined for his handling of funds belonging to Anar Mahmudov, the former minister's 41-year-old son. They said that the funds were used to purchase expensive property in southern England, citing the UK's Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, which fined Fordyce. In addition to the fine, Fordyce was barred from holding any legal management or compliance roles for five years and was ordered to pay £50,000 ($66,000) in legal costs, the OCCRP reported. The tribunal described Fordyce's vetting of the funds as 'rudimentary, piecemeal, and naive', noting that the breaches occurred between 2013 and 2015 and involved 'two high-value transfers from members of the Mahmudov family into a client account at Taylor Fordyce, the law firm where Fordyce was a director'. The OCCRP wrote that the Mahmodovs transferred more than £1.9 million ($2.5 million) in April 2015 to purchase the property. Reviewing land registry documents, the OCCRP found that Continental Properties, an off-shore registered in St. Kitts and Nevis, purchased commercial real estate in Newbury, southern England, worth around the same fee transferred to Fordyce. 'The company was listed as being 'care of' Taylor Fordyce in the records shortly after the transaction', wrote the OCCRP, adding that the property included several commercial units, including a Pizza Hut, a tutoring centre, a bakery chain, and a Salvation Army donation store. Advertisement The OCCRP noted that the UK's offshore ownership register did not include ultimate beneficiaries, citing British laws as exempting trust-held firms from public disclosure. They wrote that they reached out to Anar Mahmudov and other members of his family for comment on whether they were the beneficial owners of the company, but received no response as of publication. The OCCRP cited the tribunal as saying that Fordyce told authorities that the company was ultimately owned by Continental Trust, which was allegedly created by Mahmudov, who was not a 'director, shareholder, or beneficial owner of Continental Properties'. They added that the tribunal found that the funds originated from Nargiz Mahmudova, Anar Mahmudov's sister. Eldar Mahmudov was the subject of a 2020 OCCRP investigation which found that his family had built a European business and real estate empire worth at least €100 million ($120 million). The anti-corruption investigative project noted that neither Continental Properties nor the Newbury property purchase were mentioned in that investigation.
OC Media
31-07-2025
- Politics
- OC Media
Former German MP convicted of giving bribes on behalf of Azerbaijan
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member Eduard Lintner, a former member of the German Parliament, has been convicted of bribing officials on behalf of the Azerbaijani government. A Munich court handed him a nine-month suspended prison sentence, which may still be appealed. The case stems from a now eight-year old investigation, referred to as the 'Azerbaijani Laundromat', uncovered by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) in 2017. 'Azerbaijan's ruling elite used a $2.9 billion slush fund to enrich themselves and pay European politicians to polish the country's image amid international criticism of its human rights record', the OCCRP wrote, describing the scandal. Lintner pleaded not guilty in the case, claiming that he was simply lobbying on behalf of Azerbaijan with 'honourable motives'. In addition to Lintner's sentence, the Munich court ordered for almost $130,000 to be confiscated from the widower of late-German MP and member of the Parliamentary Assembly of Europe (PACE), Karin Strenz, who died in 2021. The court said that Strenz had been bribed by Lintner, as well as directly by Baku, to portray Azerbaijan in a more favourable light within PACE. The funds in question represent 'the value of proceeds from the offence', a court spokesperson told the OCCRP. Advertisement Previously, charges against two other individuals in connection to the same 'Azerbaijani Laundromat' scheme were dropped after they confessed. The trial of a fourth individual has been delayed. In a statement on Wednesday, Maíra Martini, the CEO of anti-corruption NGO Transparency International said that the 'verdict shows that justice is possible, even in complex transnational corruption cases. Authorities in other countries linked to the Azerbaijani Laundromat scheme should follow Germany's example and take action to ensure that those who took bribes and helped whitewash repression do not escape scrutiny'. Lintner's conviction in the Azerbaijani Laundromat affair is the latest case involving alleged bribes from Baku toward foreign politicians. In May 2024, Henry Cuellar, a member of the US Congress from Texas, was indicted, along with his wife, for reportedly accepting around $600,000 in bribes from Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank. Cuellar was nonetheless reelected later that year. Earlier in July 2025, the US Justice Department said the criminal proceedings against Cuellar would be moving forward. However, the New York Times reported that related charges against Cuellar under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) might be dropped amidst an ongoing push from the administration of President Donald Trump to 'scale back such prosecutions under the law'.
ABC News
01-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Russia-backed fund Pravfond that bankrolled 'Aussie Cossack' sanctioned by Australia over anti-Ukraine propaganda
A Russian-backed organisation that has bankrolled the legal defence of alleged spies and criminals has been sanctioned by the federal government just weeks after an investigation detailed its support for Australia's most prominent pro-Putin propagandist. The joint investigation between the ABC and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) revealed the organisation, Pravfond, had paid the legal bills of Simeon Boikov, also known as "Aussie Cossack", and successfully lobbied for him to be granted Russian citizenship. The sanctioning of Pravfond means Australian individuals and entities will no longer be able to make assets available to or for the benefit of Pravfond, and any assets held on behalf of or controlled by Pravfond must be frozen. Australian financial authorities must also closely scrutinise its transactions. Formally known as "Foundation to Support and Defend the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad", Pravfond was founded in 2012 with the stated goal of defending the rights of expat Russians, primarily by offering assistance if they get into legal trouble. Previous reporting has indicated that it has helped pay for the legal defence of notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout and hit man Vadim Krasikov, who murdered a Chechen militant in Berlin in 2019. Several top Pravfond figures, including its deputy director, Vladimir Pozdorovkin, have been identified as former Russian intelligence officers. The joint investigation drew on a cache of 50,000 internal emails to reveal Pravfond's support for Boikov, who had been hiding from authorities in the Russian consulate in Sydney since December 2022 after he assaulted a pro-Ukraine protester. The emails detail how Boikov's Sydney-based wife applied for at least three rounds of legal aid from Pravfond and the organisation helped him at least once, paying thousands of dollars in legal fees to his Sydney solicitors. They also showed Pravfond successfully pushed for Boikov's Russian citizenship — publicly confirmed in a 2023 decree from President Vladimir Putin. Asked why, given Pravfond's alleged intelligence ties and prior support of the likes of Viktor Bout and Vadim Krasikov, he thought it was appropriate to apply for funding, Boikov said he was unaware of these facts. "I didn't know about this fund … but even if I knew, even if I knew [them], I had no problems, because I think they're all heroes. They're my compatriots. "I think Viktor Bout's a great guy … he's fantastic. He's a patriot. I'm a patriot." From inside the consulate, Boikov regularly broadcasts pro-Russian propaganda, including support for Russia's war in Ukraine, via the Telegram app, where he has tens of thousands of subscribers. Last week, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) announced Pravfond had been added to its list of sanctioned individuals and entities. A spokesperson for the department told the ABC that Pravfond "has been identified as supporting individuals and entities attempting to influence public opinion abroad, including in relation to Russia's illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine". "Australia has now imposed more than 1,500 sanctions in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine," the spokesperson said. "We will continue to maintain pressure on Russia for its malign actions. "Australia has been clear that those enabling Russia's illegal invasion will face consequences." A spokesperson for the Russian embassy in Australia referred the ABC to comments by the spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, Maria Zakharova, after the investigation into Pravfond was published in May. Based on the cache of internal emails, the OCCRP published stories about Pravfond with 28 media partners, including the ABC. Ms Zakharova said at the time that the reports were "fake stories" and that Pravfond was "a purely human rights structure" that had gotten "in the hair of hateful Russophobes". "This organisation, that really helps Russians protect their legal rights abroad, is currently the target of a deluge of slander and outright disinformation," she said. A Pravfond spokesperson said it "categorically reject[ed] the allegations and designations imposed by the Australian authorities". "The Foundation's mission is solely humanitarian — to protect the rights of Russian compatriots abroad in accordance with international law," it said in a statement. The spokesperson said support for Boikov was provided "at the request of his family and exclusively on a humanitarian basis", and the fund "has no organisational or financial ties to any state or intelligence agencies". No system is 100 per cent secure, but ProtonMail can be used to protect your identity by using end-to-end encryption. Please read the terms and conditions to work out the best method of communication for you.
