Nine Steel and Iron Importers Caught in Massive Money Laundering Scheme, Evading Rs. 10 Billion

Karachi – Nine steel and iron importers have been implicated in a major money laundering scandal, siphoning off nearly Rs. 10 billion over the past three fiscal years. The Post Clearance Audit (PCA) South has uncovered this massive scheme, revealing that these entities exploited their “manufacturing status” to evade Rs. 315 million in duty taxes.
According to a report by Business Recorder, the PCA South team issued audit notices to the nine importers, but all notices were returned by the courier company with remarks indicating that the addresses were untraceable. Further investigations confirmed that the nine importers did not exist.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) database review revealed that these companies transferred Rs. 9.72 billion abroad and fraudulently obtained tax exemptions worth Rs. 315 million by misusing their manufacturing status. The audit also highlighted that the financial statements of these importers were extremely thin, raising serious questions about the financing of such large-scale imports. Notably, three of the importers did not even file income tax returns.
The PCA teams are currently investigating to identify the masterminds behind these fraudulent operations.