The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has arrested a suspect believed to be the mastermind behind a sales tax fraud totaling over Rs 4 billion in Karachi, officials confirmed on Wednesday.
Bilal Imam, who had been on the run for 18 months, was apprehended following an extensive search. His arrest is seen as a significant step in the FBR’s ongoing crackdown on tax evasion.
According to FBR officials, Imam is accused of involvement in a Rs 1.9 billion sales tax fraud case connected to Regional Tax Office-1 (RTO-1). Additionally, he faces charges in a separate Rs 2.3 billion fraud case linked to the Large Taxpayer Unit (LTU).
“Two separate FIRs have been filed against the suspect by RTO-1 and LTU,” an FBR spokesperson stated. Authorities also revealed that Imam had been evading capture for nearly 18 months, with his brother, who remains at large, also implicated in the scheme.
After his arrest, Imam was presented before the Special Judge of Customs, Taxation, and Anti-Smuggling Court in Karachi, where the court granted a four-day physical remand for further questioning.
The FBR has ramped up its efforts to tackle tax fraud as part of broader initiatives aimed at improving revenue collection and reducing tax evasion across the country. This arrest is part of a series of recent actions targeting organized financial crimes in Karachi, Pakistan’s economic center.
While authorities have not disclosed the specifics of how the fraud was carried out, they have indicated that more details will be released as the investigation unfolds.
