Pakistan Generals amassed billions in Swizz bank: report
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Islamabad: Information of around 600 accounts, related to 1,400 Pakistani nationals, in prominent Swizz bank leaked as per media reports, Asian News International (ANI) reported.
The investment banking firm, Credit Suisse, registered in Switzerland, hosts the account of prominent politicians and army generals, including former ISI chief General Akhtar Abdur Rahman Khan, the leaked data revealed.
The New York Times reported that Rahman Khan helped in funnelling billions of dollars in cash and other aid from the United States as well as other countries to the mujahedeen in Afghanistan. It was to support Afghan mujahedeen's fight against the Soviet Union, ANI reports.
Both Saudi Arabia's and the US's funding for the mujahideen rebels who fought Russia in Afghanistan went to the US's Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) Swiss account as per the report by Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). The report surmised that the end beneficiary of the funnelling was Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) led by Rahman Khan then.
According to the leak, the average maximum balance of the Pakistan accounts in the bank is 4.42 million Swiss francs, Pakistan's The News International reported. It added that many politically involved individuals did not mention these accounts, which they opened while holding public offices, in their public declaration to Pakistan Election Commission.
The new leaks are next in the series of Panama Papers in 2016, the Paradise Paper in 2017 and the Pandora Papers in 2021. The New York Times reported that a whistle-blower leaked to the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung 18,000 bank accounts which in total hold more than 100 billion US dollars. More leaks are expected in the coming days, ANI reports,
In January, the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2021 by Transparency International ranked Pakistan 180th after losing 16 spots in a year. However, India was ranked 85, while Denmark, Finland and New Zealand ranked first.