PM Khan asks international community to return stolen assets of developing states

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Thursday that the international community should act against perpetrators of financial crimes and return the stolen assets of developing countries, reported the Associated Press of Pakistan.

Addressing a panel on Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity (FACTI) on the sidelines of the 75th United Nations General Assembly session in New York through a video link, he said: “One trillion dollars is taken out each year by these white-collar criminals. Twenty to forty billion dollars is in the form of bribes received by the corrupt. Seven trillion dollars in stolen assets is parked in safe tax ‘haven’ destinations. Five to six hundred billion dollars is lost each year in tax avoidance by multinational companies.”

Pointing out “billions of dollars” of illicit outflow of money from developing countries, Khan maintained his government had received “a robust public mandate to get rid of this menace from the country.”

He said that his administration had “taken several initiatives domestically” to deal with the situation, adding that “the stolen assets of developing countries, including the proceeds of corruption, bribery, and other crimes, must be returned immediately.”

“The authorities in ‘haven’ destinations must impose criminal and financial penalties on their financial institutions, which receive and utilize such money or assets,” Khan said.

He also noted that the “enablers” of such crimes, including accountants, lawyers and other individuals, must be regulated and held accountable.

Khan criticized the “profit-shifting” practice of multinational corporations, saying these organizations took their money to low-tax zones of the world to retain as much of their profit as possible.

“Unequal investment treaties should be discarded or revised and a fair system for adjudication of investment disputes set up,” he recommended.

The prime minister also appreciated the initiative by Nigeria and Norway to establish the panel on International Financial Accountability. He also welcomed the interim FACTI report, calling the figures of illicit flows of money mentioned in it “staggering,” and pointing out that “this bleeding of the poorer and developing countries must stop.”