ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue has registered a money laundering case after identifying what it says was a Rs9.41 billion scheme involving unlawful revisions of old wealth statements to introduce previously unexplained assets into taxpayers’ declared wealth.
FBR said its Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation (Inland Revenue), working with Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited, analysed tax records and identified 85 taxpayers who revised wealth statements between March 2025 and June 2026.
According to the tax authority, the revisions related to tax years 2014 to 2019 and inserted assets including cash, physical gold, prize bonds, properties and business capital that had not previously been declared.
FBR said the revisions were made beyond the period permitted under the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001. The explanation to Section 116(3), cited by the authority, bars revision of a wealth statement after five years from the due date of the original return.
The allegations remain subject to investigation and legal proceedings. FBR’s announcement describes conduct identified by its investigators and should not be read as a court finding of guilt against all taxpayers under scrutiny.
The authority gave details of one case registered by its Lahore intelligence directorate. It alleged that a taxpayer revised a wealth statement for tax year 2015 in May 2026 and inserted Rs102.8 million in funds that FBR described as fictitious.
According to FBR, that amount was then carried forward through later wealth statements up to tax year 2025 and used to account for seven properties worth Rs64.41 million purchased in May and June 2026. The authority said the taxpayer could not explain the source of the funds when questioned.
FBR estimated that the tax allegedly sought to be evaded in that individual case exceeded Rs46 million.
Regional intelligence and investigation directorates have launched 48 criminal inquiries across Pakistan, while proceedings in the remaining identified cases are being processed, FBR said.
A money laundering case has been registered against the taxpayer involved in the Lahore case and any alleged abettors found to have participated. FBR said further cases are being processed as investigations continue.
The case is significant for tax enforcement because wealth statements are used to reconcile a taxpayer’s declared assets, liabilities and financial position over time. Retroactive changes can affect how later acquisitions appear in the tax record.
FBR said its data-analytics systems would continue to monitor similar manipulation and that people found responsible could face penalties and criminal proceedings under applicable law.
The Rs9.41 billion figure represents the value of unexplained assets FBR says were inserted across the 85 identified taxpayers’ revised wealth statements. It is not the amount of tax already recovered, nor does it represent a final judicial determination of losses to the exchequer.