PM Imran has ordered to bring back laundered money: Asad Umar

[MenInG]

https://www.geo.tv/latest/208148-pm-imran-has-ordered-to-bring-back-laundered-money-umar

ISLAMABAD: Minister of Finance Asad Umar remarked on Monday that Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered to bring back funds which have been laundered from Pakistan.

While addressing a press conference in the federal capital, Umar said: "We are not aware how much funds have been parked at Swiss Bank. [Former finance minister] Ishaq Dar had shared four years ago that USD200 has been parked."

Dar has not done anything regarding these funds, he said, adding that it will be government's top priority to bring back the money which was laundered.

Umar also pointed out that Pakistanis have bought properties worth USD8 billion in Dubai.

Speaking about the Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (PIAC) and Pakistan Steel Mills, he shared that the employees of these two organisations will not be terminated.

"The financial losses incurred by the PIAC and steel mills is not due to their employees. Holding employees responsible for financial losses is wrong."

Umar further remarked that as many as 500 employees used to work at the Prime Minister House. "There employees will now work for the people of Pakistan."

Over government's decision to sell bonds to overseas Pakistan, the finance minister said that the decision will be finalised soon.

"It has already been decided that government will sell bonds to overseas Pakistanis. In a couple of days, the government will finalise the decision," he added.

 

[Savak]

PTI will have to get rid of the excess labour in PIA. The excess labour is one of the main reasons for the downfall of PIA. So many ghost employees who are earning Rs 100,000-500,000 per month without even showing up to work.

Adjust these employees in other sectors of the economy with respect to their skillsets.

 

[InziRules]

PTI will have to get rid of the excess labour in PIA. The excess labour is one of the main reasons for the downfall of PIA. So many ghost employees who are earning Rs 100,000-500,000 per month without even showing up to work.

Adjust these employees in other sectors of the economy with respect to their skillsets.

PIA's issue is **** employees, not number of employees. Unlike other airlines, PIA does everything internally, like literally everything.

The issue is older employees are garbage, but they do need replacing. We should be looking to expand PIA, and I think Asad Umar will do that.

Btw, PIA makes a profit, the creative accountancy done by Nawaz's men make it look like it's making a loss. Watch it make a large profit this year, just by changing the accountancy

 

[hussain.r97]

PTI will have to get rid of the excess labour in PIA. The excess labour is one of the main reasons for the downfall of PIA. So many ghost employees who are earning Rs 100,000-500,000 per month without even showing up to work.

Adjust these employees in other sectors of the economy with respect to their skillsets.

Agreed. They also need to make sure that the people working for PIA are actually competent at their job. I think Asad Umar's idea of placing all government companies into a wealth fund is a good idea. Competent people will run PIA, but it will still technically be owned by the government.

 

[Maverick84]

Agreed. They also need to make sure that the people working for PIA are actually competent at their job. I think Asad Umar's idea of placing all government companies into a wealth fund is a good idea. Competent people will run PIA, but it will still technically be owned by the government.

Asad Umar has repeatedly mentioned that excessive employment isn't a reason for its downfall in fact, it is one of PIA's biggest strength. Compared to other airlines, PIA's labor to aircraft ratio is lowest. Etihaad and Emirate's labor cost is 20% of their gross revenue, PIA's 14%. Core labor ratio 8% of the total gross revenue. Problem is corruption and chor sitting on the top. Where they had to give 8 landing right every year they gave away 108 in one year and agreed to bare all the expenses.

 

[hussain.r97]

Asad Umar has repeatedly mentioned that excessive employment isn't a reason for its downfall in fact, it is one of PIA's biggest strength. Compared to other airlines, PIA's labor to aircraft ratio is lowest. Etihaad and Emirate's labor cost is 20% of their gross revenue, PIA's 14%. Core labor ratio 8% of the total gross revenue. Problem is corruption and chor sitting on the top. Where they had to give 8 landing right every year they gave away 108 in one year and agreed to bare all the expenses.

I was mainly referring to "ghost employees", who take a salary but don't actually do any work at PIA. If those can be eliminated and replaced with genuine workers, it would make a serious difference.

 

[hussain.r97]

No employee of PIA, Pakistan Steel Mills and PM House will lose job: Asad Umar

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Finance Minister Asad Umar has said that the first decision of the new cabinet was to form a high powered taskforce to recover unlawful wealth stashed abroad.

In a tweet message, he maintained that those who have stolen public money and hide it abroad is loud and clear.

He visited the finance ministry and held a media talk. Finance Minister Asad Umar asserted that PTI will make revolutionary changes in economy with support of the people.

He stressed tax base will be increased for revenue generation by revamping the FBR.

Finance Minister said the looted wealth of the country will be brought back and people’s money will be spent on people. He noted that all decisions will be made in parliament.

“After approval from the cabinet, bonds and sukuk will be issued for overseas Pakistanis. The task force will present its report in two weeks. No information is yet present regarding the foreign assets of Pakistanis but they have done $8 billion investment in Dubai alone,” he explained.

All the steps can be successful only with the cooperation of people, added Umar.

Asad Umar said the newly elected government will create employment opportunities for youth as part of its election manifesto.

He went on to say that Karachi being the largest city and financial hub of the country is engine of the economy.

Finance Minister said all out resources will be used for generation of revenue. He said our immediate focus will be on giving relief to pensioners and widows.

He ruled out the possibility that the employees of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Pakistan Steel Mills and Prime Minister House will lose their jobs.

https://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/45...istan-Steel-Mills-PM-House-lose-job-Asad-Umar

 

[Asim_khan]

Good decision. PM Imran Khan talked about job performance, rather than making large scale redundancies straight away, watch performance of employees and it will soon it will become apparent who the freeloaders are and then you can be rid of them for scrounging

 

[Extra_Cover]

PTI's first priority should be to have a deal with UK and US over money laundering act. The legal document should bind both Governments to inquire and investigate any claims of illegal wealth held either in Pakistan or UK/US.

If an act like this takes effect where any claims will be investigated independently through external sources then I believe we have a very good chance of recovering ill-gotten wealth. If the respective governments do not agree then its pretty much a useless exercise.

I'm not mentioning KSA or UAE in above as these countries most likely would not agree to any such agreement.

 

[Savak]

PTI's first priority should be to have a deal with UK and US over money laundering act. The legal document should bind both Governments to inquire and investigate any claims of illegal wealth held either in Pakistan or UK/US.

If an act like this takes effect where any claims will be investigated independently through external sources then I believe we have a very good chance of recovering ill-gotten wealth. If the respective governments do not agree then its pretty much a useless exercise.

I'm not mentioning KSA or UAE in above as these countries most likely would not agree to any such agreement.

I think a certain percentage has to be offered to these countries as incentives, also the Pakistan Govt themselves have to offer complete information sharing on dual national assets, properties, accounts in Pakistan. These governments will not co-operate without any incentive.

 

[Arham_PakFan]

ISLAMABAD: Shrugging off the $200 billion estimates about Pakistani wealth stashed in foreign banks, Finance Minister Asad Umar has said that the priority of the new government is to repatriate the ‘huge’ amount of funds transferred abroad through the illegal practice of money laundering.

Speaking to the media after he was given his first briefing as the minister for finance by the secretary, Mr Umar said that the government would soon decide whether to present a fresh federal budget or come up with some other way to lay out the actual economic situation in parliament.

Responding to a question, the minister said employees would not be laid off. Instead, he added, the current staff will be reoriented to work towards delivering public service — and not just continue to serve the few at the expense of the many. “We are not going to sack or send home any labour. We are not going to create unemployment,” he said.

Says decision soon whether to present fresh budget or come up with some other way to lay out economic situation before parliament

The finance minister said that it is a misnomer that thousands of laborers inducted into the public sector was the cause of the downfall of public sector entities like the Pakistan Steel Mill and Pakistan International Airlines.

He said that there might be people who were not utilised or those who should not have been inducted in the first place, but it was the ineffectual management and the incompetence of past governments that was the underlying cause of the unprofitability of the public sector.

Mr Umar added that nobody, including himself, knew exactly how much wealth Pakistanis had stashed abroad, except the $8bn invested in the Dubai real estate market, as stated by the Dubai Real Estate Authority. Clearly, he said, they were “huge amounts and since we have been talking about this, the first decision of the cabinet under Prime Minister Imran Khan was to constitute a task force, which has been given two weeks to formulate a strategy to repatriate the looted money that has been filtered out of Pakistan thanks to years of corruption”.

Mr Umar said that the former finance minister, Ishaq Dar, had stated on the floor of the National Assembly that $200bn had been stashed abroad. But, he added, the previous government had failed to take any concrete measures to repatriate the money.

The government, Mr Umar said, had not yet taken a final decision about issuing bonds to overseas Pakistanis, but decided, in principle, to offer bonds and sukuk to expatriates.

He said he had been given a broad review of the economic situation during his visit to the ministry, and that there were several daunting challenges, but there were also many opportunities.

Mr Umar said that the previous government had rolled out an unrealistic budget that had nothing to do with the realities on the ground. He said that the prime minister had decided to lay out the dire circumstances and actual realities before parliament. The finance minister said that the position of the fiscal deficit and the steps required to remedy the colossal problems would also be presented on the floor of the house.

“We will formulate a comprehensive and integrated economic strategy to address all the challenges we face today,” Mr Umar said, adding that the plan to save the economy would involve raising funds by reaching out to expatriates.

Earlier in the day, the minister chaired a meeting of senior officials in the finance ministry, where he was briefed on the overall working of the department, its different wings and sub-ordinate offices. The minister on the occasion reiterated the government’s resolve to take concrete steps to strengthen the economy. He called upon the officers to work as a team and contribute their best to that end, said an official statement.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1428335/bringing-back-money-sent-abroad-illegally-is-top-priority-asad

 

[Savak]

Lol I fear some back tracking already

 

[Fahdi]

Lol I fear some back tracking already

Why?

 

[Savak]

Why?

They are already backtracking from the $200-300 billion figure

 

[Mian]

They are already backtracking from the $200-300 billion figure

This figure was first given by Ishaq Dar as Finance Minister back in 2014 https://www.dawn.com/news/1105356

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar staggered the National Assembly on Friday when he revealed that at least $200 billion of ‘Pakistani money’ was stashed away in Swiss banks.

 

[Fahdi]

They are already backtracking from the $200-300 billion figure

According to Asad Umar that figure was said by Ishaq Dar without anything to back it up. The actual figure could be much more or much less.

 

[Savak]

This figure was first given by Ishaq Dar as Finance Minister back in 2014 https://www.dawn.com/news/1105356

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar staggered the National Assembly on Friday when he revealed that at least $200 billion of ‘Pakistani money’ was stashed away in Swiss banks.

Regardless, why use these figures in pre-election rhetoric if it is not verified. If they now come out and say the actual amount is $5 billion. Are the supporters not going to be disappointed and disillusioned?

 

[Mian]

Regardless, why use these figures in pre-election rhetoric if it is not verified. If they now come out and say the actual amount is $5 billion. Are the supporters not going to be disappointed and disillusioned?

PTI focus mostly was on money laundered by corrupt politicians including sharifs and bhuttos during their election campaign. Even in OP it is saying that while addressing a press conference in the federal capital, Umar said: "We are not aware how much funds have been parked at Swiss Bank. [Former finance minister] Ishaq Dar had shared four years ago that USD200 has been parked."

 

[giri26]

PM entrusts finance minister with task of running ECC affairs

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minis*ter Imran Khan has declined to lead the Economic Coordina*tion Committee (ECC) of the cabinet and has delegated the responsibility to Finance Minister Asad Umar who will lead the reconstituted economic decision-making body.

A senior government official told Dawn that the cabinet division had moved a summary to the prime minister seeking his approval to head four major cabinet committees, which included those on restructuring, privatisation, energy and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The prime minister, however, appointed his finance minister as chairman of the ECC, which has 12 other members — six of them are yet to be appointed though. The official said the decisions of the finance minister-led ECC would have to be endorsed by the federal cabinet to give them legal cover.

Other members of the ECC would include ministers for law and justice Farogh Naseem, petroleum Ghulam Abbasi, planning & development Khusro Bakhtiar and railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, besides the prime minister’s advisers on commerce and textiles Razak Dawood and institutional reforms and austerity Dr Ishrat Husain. In addition, six more ministers — communications, national food security, power, privatisation, statistics and water resources — will also be appointed members of the ECC according to the notification.

The official said there are no set standards and rules directing who should head the ECC or other sub-committees of the cabinet. Different prime ministers have made varying decisions in the past. He explained that it was the prime minister’s prerogative under the Rules of Business, 1973, to appoint as many committees of the cabinet as he or she desired and to assign any subcommittee of the cabinet to anyone of their cabinet colleagues.

Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had decided to head the ECC himself after replacing the finance minister at the time, Ishaq Dar. Mr Abbasi’s decision had brought back the direct control of the prime minister’s office — over federal ministries and divisions — that it had enjoyed when Shaukat Aziz was prime minister under retired General Pervez Musharraf’s dictatorship.

Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gillani initially continued with the arrangement when he inherited the government. Syed Naveed Qamar was finance minister at the time. The authority was subsequently transferred when Shaukat Tarin took the reins of the ministry.

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had delegated all economic and financial powers to Ishaq Dar who reportedly headed, at one time, more than four dozen committees, including those on legal, constitutional and political affairs.

Meanwhile, the first meeting of the reconstituted committee has been called on Wednesday to take up a few major issues including an increase in consumer gas prices by an average 30 per cent. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority had determined the rise, but the caretaker government declined to pass it on to the consumers even though it was legally required to do so within 40 days of the proposal. The government contended that this increase was a major policy decision, which ought to be made by the new elected government.

According to the agenda, the ECC will also take up the issues of the liabilities of the Pakistan State Oil, rising circular debt in the power sector, and the predicted shortage of fertilizers, an official said.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1429383/pm-entrusts-finance-minister-with-task-of-running-ecc-affairs