The federal government is pursuing legal avenues to extradite property tycoon Malik Riaz from the United Arab Emirates, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) revealed on Tuesday. Riaz, the owner of Bahria Town, and his son Ali Malik are proclaimed offenders in the Al-Qadir Trust case and are reportedly residing in the UAE.
In January 2024, an accountability court froze the properties of five co-accused in the case, including Riaz and his son. The NAB press release stated that investigations into fraud, deceptive practices, and public cheating are ongoing against the property magnate and his associates.
According to NAB, Malik Riaz illegally occupied state-owned and private lands in Karachi, Takht-Pari, Rawalpindi, and New Murree to develop housing societies without obtaining necessary regulatory permissions or no-objection certificates. The watchdog accused Riaz of defrauding the public and the state of billions of rupees through these unauthorized ventures.
NAB further alleged that Riaz expanded his operations to other cities, including Peshawar and Jamshoro, where he continued selling plots in housing societies lacking legal documentation or ownership rights.
Declaring Riaz an absconder in the Al-Qadir Trust case, NAB confirmed it had frozen numerous assets belonging to him and Bahria Town. Additionally, it warned the public against investing in a new luxury apartment project recently launched by Riaz in Dubai, stating, “Investing in the stated project may amount to money laundering, and individuals could face criminal or legal proceedings.”
Malik Riaz, who has historically maintained strong ties with political parties and key institutions, previously claimed he was under “pressure” to take political sides and vowed not to be used as a “pawn for political motives.”