Description:

An officer was fired by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) following an investigation into allegations of money laundering.

The FBR Chairman Faisalabad terminated Muhammad Shahzad Bashir, Inspector-IR (BS-16), Department of Intelligence & Investigation (IR), for counselling, advising, and interacting with a person nominated in the FBR in a money laundering case.

In order to remove itself from the "grey list," FATF has requested that Pakistan implement stringent anti-money laundering regulations, and this effort must be clearly evident.

In a FIR filed under the 2010 Anti-Money Laundering Act, Mr. Bashir was charged with telephone contact with a representative of an accused named in the FIR. In these talks, he and the accused named in the FIR were mentioned in connection with some "dealing(s)".

He was discovered to have acted against the interests of the government to get illegal considerations by offering guidance to the accused"s representative during their talk about the FIR.

Bashir was also accused of acting outside the bounds of his power, breaking office rules, and going against the no-contact with-taxpayers policy.

Two of the three charges brought against the accused inspector during the departmental investigation were proven, while one charge was only partially proven. The authority gave the accused the chance to have a private hearing and served a show cause notice based on the investigation findings.

Following the conclusion of the disciplinary process, the board sentenced Bashir to a heavy punishment of "Dismissal from Service" on May 17, 2022.

The contested penalty order was challenged by the previous Inspector-IR in a departmental appeal. The Appellate Authority gave him a chance to have a private hearing on July 28, 2022. During the hearing, he refuted the accusations made against him and asserted that he had collaborated with the accused"s designated representative under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2010 at the request of the case"s inquiry officer.

The Appellate Authority listened to audio clips of a dialogue between the appellant and the accused"s agent in order to make a reasonable and fair decision. The chat disproved the appellant"s claim that he was simply working with the opposite side to get the case"s required documentation. The audio recording clearly showed that the talk was more than just coordination and that the appellant had been working against the interests of revenue generation.

The appellant did not object to the audio clips during the in-person hearing as being "fake."

After reviewing the case"s circumstances, the Chairman FBR expressed his opinion as the appellate authority that the allegations of "misconduct" and "corruption" had been proven. The principal penalty of "Dismissal from Service" was changed by the Appellate Authority to "Removal from Service" in light of the fact that charge No. 1 was partially proven.

It is important to note that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had expressed dissatisfaction with Pakistani authorities for failing to take effective action against individuals engaged in money laundering. The authorities have also begun preparing for a task force delegation"s on-site visit. This situation shows that the government is taking strict action to comply with FATF requirements in order to achieve removal on the latter"s "grey list."