UK-based Pak businessman under scanner used charity cricket match to fund Imran party: Report | World News,The Indian Express

The Pakistani businessman, Arif Naqvi, 62, founder of Dubai-based Abraaj Group, was indicted in the US in 2019 on charges of siphoning funds from the Gates Foundation and other investors, meant for building hospitals across Asia and Africa.

A UK-based Pakistani businessman, who is facing charges of siphoning funds in the US, provided foreign funding to former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party by organising private cricket matches, the Financial Times has reported. The daily reported that Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, also received funding from a minister in the UAE who is a member of the royal family.

The Pakistani businessman, Arif Naqvi, 62, founder of Dubai-based Abraaj Group, was indicted in the US in 2019 on charges of siphoning funds from the Gates Foundation and other investors, meant for building hospitals across Asia and Africa. Arrested from London’s Heathrow Airport in April 2019, Naqvi is reported to be “effectively in house arrest”. He faces 291 years in jail, if found guilty of the US charges. His appeal against extradition to the US is expected to conclude later this year.

The revelations can be damaging for Khan, who portrays himself as an anti-corruption crusader against the established political parties run by families in Pakistan. The matter is being investigated by Pakistan’s Election Commission.

According to the report, Naqvi presided over the “Wootton T20 Cup” from 2010 to 2012 – the primary event was a cricket match between groups with invented names – that was used to collect between 2,000 pounds and 2,500 pounds from guests for unspecified “philanthropic causes”.

“It is the type of charity fundraiser repeated up and down the UK every summer. What makes it unusual is that the ultimate benefactor was a political party in Pakistan. The fees were paid to Wootton Cricket Ltd, which, despite the name, was a Cayman Islands-incorporated company owned by Naqvi, and the money was being used to bankroll Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Khan’s political party,” the Financial Times report said.

https://indianexpress.com/article/world/uk-pakistan-businessman-scanner-charity-cricket-fund-imran-party-8061460/


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