ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has uncovered a fraud in which taxpayers illegally amended previous wealth statements to declare unexplained assets worth Rs9.41 billion.

The FBR said on Wednesday that it has registered a criminal case under the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010, and is processing further cases.

The Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation (Inland Revenue) unearthed the fraud through a detailed analysis of FBR’s database, supported by Pakistan Revenue Automation Ltd (PRAL).

The analysis identified 85 taxpayers who, between March 2025 and June 2026, revised their wealth statements for tax years 2014 to 2019 and inserted cash, physical gold, prize bonds, properties and business capital that had never been declared before. The law clearly bars this.

Under the explanation to section 116(3) of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, a wealth statement cannot be revised more than five years after the due date of the original return. Every revision identified was made well beyond this limit.

In one case, the Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation (Inland Revenue), Lahore, found that a taxpayer revised his wealth statement for tax year 2015 in May 2026 and inserted fictitious funds of Rs102.8 million.

He then carried this amount forward through his wealth statements up to tax year 2025 and used it to account for seven properties worth Rs64.41m bought in May and June 2026. When asked, he could not explain the source of the funds. The tax sought to be evaded in this case alone exceeds Rs46m.

Regional Directorates of Intelligence and Investigation (Inland Revenue) have launched 48 criminal inquiries across Pakistan, while proceedings in the remaining cases are in progress.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2026