ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday took over Karachi’s Bahria Icon Tower Pakistan’s tallest building after a Rawalpindi accountability court upheld the provisional attachment of the property in connection with an ongoing money laundering investigation involving real estate businessman Malik Riaz.
Valued at nearly Rs100 billion, the landmark skyscraper in Clifton was placed under NAB’s control after the court, in its July 3, 2026 order, confirmed the bureau’s action under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010.
According to NAB officials, the investigation into M/s Galaxy Construction (Pvt) Ltd and other entities concluded that the land acquisition and construction of the tower were financed through proceeds of crime, making the property liable for attachment under Section 8 of the anti-money laundering law.
Following the court’s approval, NAB took physical possession of the building and transferred its custody and management to the local administration in accordance with legal procedures.
Officials described the move as a major step in the bureau’s campaign to trace, restrain and recover assets allegedly linked to money laundering. They said NAB remains committed to strengthening financial investigations and ensuring that illegally acquired assets are confiscated in line with the law.
The bureau alleges that around Rs8 billion in illicit funds were laundered for the construction of Bahria Icon Tower, which investigators say was held through a front company, M/s Galaxy Construction (Pvt) Ltd.
The latest action follows a series of measures against Malik Riaz and Bahria Town. In June, an accountability court issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Riaz, his son and other suspects in the Bahria Town Karachi land case, before ordering the freezing of properties across the country for 15 days.
Earlier, in May, NAB froze four additional Bahria Town properties under court orders. Riaz is also declared an absconder in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case.
Separately, NAB attached the Bahria Town Tower on Karachi’s Tariq Road after investigators claimed it was registered in the name of Muhammad Awais, whom they described as a benamidar allegedly holding the property on behalf of Malik Riaz and Bahria Town.
The bureau had previously filed a corruption reference in 2020, accusing Malik Riaz and others of illegally obtaining the land on which Bahria Icon Tower was constructed.
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