AS the Covid-battered politically polarised world failed to avert yet another war, threatening not just those caught up in the conflict but millions more with its fallout on global markets, those exposed in ‘Suisse Secrets’ must have heaved a sigh of relief with the shifting media spotlight.

The harrowing images of death and destruction will grab media and public attention across the globe; the fallout on markets will consume the energies of economic hierarchies, and national leaders will remain busy dealing with the evolving and worsening situation in a nuclear world. All this would be taken as a godsend by the tainted.

“The war may have overshadowed the issue of the criminal conduct of the ultra-rich, the supportive institutions and the mechanisms for the time being, but the revelations can’t be reversed and will hopefully lead to accountability and overhauling of systems eventually,” hoped an expert.

All the 1,400 names of Pakistanis listed in the ‘Suisse Secrets’, issued by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), have yet to surface, but the breaking story carried by multiple global media outlets have featured some stellar names.

Earlier, Panama (2016), Paradise (2017) and Pandora Papers (2021) also revealed names of hundreds of Pakistanis with suspicious holdings overseas. However, in the absence of public interest/reaction, except for the politically-motivated targeting of one family, all others on the list escaped visible consequences. They might have kept a low profile for a bit, but then carried on with their business as usual.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict may have repercussions for the world at large, but those named in the ‘Suisse Secrets’ are enjoying the shifting of the spotlight

The sentiment in Corporate Pakistan has been a mixed bag, with most leaders being against purging the tainted members from business forums. Some want to hear the other side of the story before taking a position. A few, however, were clear in their head, insisting that they would avoid dealing with those having fallen from grace and wished to see them pay for their misconduct under the law of the land.

Multiple national institutions vested with the responsibility of maintaining financial discipline have proved to be impotent in this regard. The Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR), the State Bank of Pakistan and the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, as always, kept mum in the wake of the recent revelations.

According to reports, the ‘Suisse Secrets’ contain details of 18,000 accounts held by 30,000 holders having a collective value of over $100 billion. The average balance of account held by Pakistanis was 4.42 million Swiss francs (Rs841m) compared to an overall overage of 7.5m Swiss francs (Rs1.42bn). The data covers accounts that were open from the 1940s until well into the 2010s.

“How many more exposes will it take to motivate the lawmakers and enforcers in Pakistan?” a corporate lawyer wondered.

Responding to Dawn’s query, M. Abdul Aleem, Secretary-General of the Overseas Investors of Commerce and Industry, was cautious. He said: “Mostly, our members are subsidiaries of reputed multinational companies, following high standards of financial ethics complying with regulations. They are very sensitive about their image. We are confident that none of our members would be on Suisse’s Secret list.” He hoped that the government officials they interact with are above board as well.

Younus Dhaga, former federal secretary, an outlier who is currently Chairman of the Policy Advisory Board of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber and Commerce and Industry, did not expect trade bodies in the country to be proactive in curbing financial excesses by members of their community. When asked should the business bodies not denounce illegal capital transfers from the resource-starved country and hold their tainted members accountable, he said: “They should, but won’t.”

Commenting on the exposed accounts and possible reasons for the trend, he noted: “I would say that most of the time it is the ill-gotten money which their holders cannot declare within the country. Pakistan otherwise has no dearth of investment opportunities [even though] the perennial uncertainty that surrounds us all the time has kept investors nervous about taking a long-term position on investments. Lack of policies also plays an adverse role in most of the critical sectors for investments.”

Musadaq Zulqarnain, Chairman and CEO of Interloop Holdings, regretted that people have stopped differentiating between genuine capital formation and money raked from scams. “As far these leaks are concerned, if deposits held abroad have not been declared and reconciled, one would assume that the money is either ill-gotten or untaxed. I can’t judge anyone without listening to their side of the story. In a market, money can buy any service. So is the case in Pakistan. Still, I will not partner with anyone who is tainted.”

Majyd Aziz, former president of the Employers’ Federation of Pakistan, acknowledged that the elite class in Pakistan is well aware of investment options and stops at nothing when it comes to multiplying the wealth.

“Everyone and his uncle know that the safest ‘hideout’ for undocumented wealth is the vault of some Swiss bank. The secrecy clause, the rigid policy of Swiss banks and government, and the insistence of the bank customers to maintain confidentiality enabled the corrupt and the tax-evaders to take maximum advantage. No one knew a day would come when their secret will be exposed.

“It is known that Pakistani big shots are priority clients of Swiss banks,” he said. Delineating on the modus operandi, he said over-invoicing of machinery/raw material cost is a common practice. Money so extracted rarely finds the way back home and is normally deposited in overseas accounts.

He thinks trade bodies will expel exposed corrupt elements only if the law, the Trade Organisations Ordinance, is amended to insert this clause. “However, in this country, the elite enjoy the critical mass to thwart such a move.” He advised the chief justice to take suo moto action and form a full bench not only to bar those who have been named in the leaks from contesting in trade bodies but also to hold them accountable.

Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo, a former president of FPCCI, was not surprised over the revelations and did not expect consequences for those exposed. He blamed insecurity and crooked tax system for undeclared and illegal wealth. “Plus everyone escapes consequences. This deepens the trend. Accountability is the key.

“There should be a national debate on the country’s tax system to make it correspond to the reality.”

Mohammad Hassan Bakshi, former chairman of the Association of Builders and Developers, suggested thus: “Out of 1,400 Pakistanis named in ‘Suisse Secrets’, those who have not declared their accounts earlier in the FBR should be mandated to pay at least 60 per cent of the value of their hidden assets to the government if they wish to continue with their normal life. In short, the Saudi Model should be adopted.”

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, January 28th, 2022