Al-Qadir Trust Scandal — How £190 Million Was Allegedly Redirected to Benefit Malik Riaz
When the UK’s National Crime Agency announced the return of £190 million seized from tycoon Malik Riaz, many Pakistanis cheered—unaware that the windfall was already being rerouted. Behind closed doors, Prime Minister Imran Khan diverted the money away from the federal treasury, cleared a mammoth Bahria Town fine, and secured prime land for his newly minted Al-Qadir University Trust—chaired by himself and his wife. What looked like an anti-corruption victory became a textbook lesson in political sleight-of-hand, costing the public billions while polishing the leader’s reformist image.
1. Background: The £190 million that should have come home
On 3 December 2019 the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) announced its largest ever “dirty-money” settlement: property tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain agreed to hand over £190 million (≈ Rs50 billion) in cash and a £50 million London mansion. The NCA said the assets would be “returned to the Government of Pakistan” and stressed the deal “did not represent a finding of guilt.” The Guardianfinanceuncovered.org
2. A closed-door cabinet decision
Hours after the NCA press release, then-PM Imran Khan convened a confidential cabinet meeting (3 Dec 2019). Instead of remitting the money to the federal treasury, ministers approved depositing it in a Supreme Court escrow account created to collect a Rs 460 billion fine that Bahria Town (Malik Riaz’s Karachi project) owed in a separate land-grab case. Cabinet members were not shown the settlement deed. WikipediaThe Express TribuneDawn
3. Birth of the Al-Qadir University Project Trust
Within weeks, a new charity was registered in Islamabad:
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Chairman: Imran Khan
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Trustee: Bushra Bibi (spouse)
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Other initial trustees: Zulfi Bukhari, Babar Awan, Farah Khan
Riaz soon donated 458 kanals (≈ 57 acres) of land near Sohawa, Jhelum to the trust—land valued by investigators at hundreds of millions of rupees. Profit by Pakistan TodayDawnPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
4. The alleged quid pro quo
Prosecutors say the sequence created a two-way benefit:
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Liability relief: By paying the NCA money into the Supreme Court’s Bahria Town fine account, the PTI government effectively allowed that instalment of the Rs 460 bn penalty to be settled with public money instead of Bahria Town’s own funds. WikipediaProfit by Pakistan Today
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Private reward: In return, Bahria Town transferred prime real estate (and other benefits) to the trust controlled by Khan and his wife. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) estimates the arrangement cost the national exchequer more than US$239 million. Al Jazeera
5. Where should the money legally have gone?
Article 78 of Pakistan’s Constitution requires “all revenues received by the federal government” to be credited to the Federal Consolidated Fund or the Public Account of the Federation — not to an ad-hoc escrow for a private developer’s fine. Pakp
6. Legal fallout
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Investigation & reference: NAB converted its inquiry into a reference in Dec 2023, listing 58 witnesses. Business Recorder
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Indictment: Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were formally indicted on 28 Feb 2024. Business Recorder
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Conviction: On 17 Jan 2025 an accountability court sentenced Khan to 14 years and Bushra Bibi to 7 years for corrupt practices and unlawful benefit; both deny wrongdoing and are appealing. Reuters
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Trust registration challenged: In Feb 2025 the Islamabad High Court questioned the maintainability of the trust’s registration under the Charity Act, pending final appeals. Dawn
7. Why it matters
By routing £190 million away from the treasury, the state allegedly lost direct control of funds intended for public welfare while a private developer’s multibillion-rupee fine was offset. Critics call it “state capture by stealth”; supporters say the case is politically motivated and the NCA money was lawfully applied. Courts will give the last word, but the episode highlights how opaque financial engineering can turn a foreign asset-recovery victory into a domestic liability.
Bottom line: Constitutionally, the £190 million should have entered the federal coffers first, to be spent only after parliamentary appropriation. Diverting it to clear a private company’s penalty—and securing land for a trust chaired by the prime minister and his spouse—created the appearance, and now a judicial finding, of quid-pro-quo corruption.
