Pakistani investigators have increased to more than $3 billion their estimate of the money they allege the family of Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister, has illegally siphoned out of the country.
Much of it is allegedly from the proceeds of drug trafficking. The figure - double earlier official estimates - was described by one senior Pakistani official Wednesday as a conservative estimate based on assets identified in countries including Britain, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, and Poland.
Investigators say the assets include cash held in bank accounts or offshore com-panies. Some of the cash is thought to have included commission payments made by foreign companies seeking business in Pakistan.
In the UK, the assets, owned directly or through front companies, include two properties - one in Surrey worth 3.5 million and a luxury apartment in London.
Other assets identified include a Rolls-Royce, a Bentley and polo horses.
Pakistani officials say the British government is poised to freeze bank accounts and properties after Pakistan provided supporting evidence of drug trafficking, masterminded by Benazir Bhuttos husband, Asif Zardari. Zardari is currently in prison in Pakistan awaiting trial on a murder charge.
Ms Bhutto, Pakistans leading opposition figure, has denied that assets held by her family in Europe have been obtained through illegal means. Her friends claim a political vendetta is being carried out against her. The UK told Pakistan last week that it could not officially sanction freezing assets because there was no bilateral agreement for mutual assistance in crime investigations. However, Pakistan is now confident that action will be taken by the UK under the UN convention on narcotics and drugs control, which both countries have signed. The Financial Times was yesterday shown a copy of a recent six-page intelligence report by Pakistans anti-narcotics force alleging widespread corruption in key government departments during Ms Bhuttos administration. It named as one of Mr Zardaris close collaborators a Pakistani businessman who is the director of several companies registered in the UK. A spokesman for the Foreign Office said last night: We have been asked to help by the Pakistani authorities and we are trying to do everything we can within UK law. Copyright Financial Times Limited 1997. All Rights Reserved.
