Controversial property tycoon Malik Riaz's security officer Colonel (retd) Khalil Ur Rehman has filed a case at Islamabad’s Aabpara police station against an unknown person for threatening to kill the real estate magnate.

 

As per the widely circulated First Information Report, an email was sent to Malik Riaz on January 12 at 4:15 pm, demanding 50 bitcoin, equivalent to over PKR 1.42 billion, as ransom. “If the demand is not met, Malik Riaz and his family members will be in danger,“ the FIR said.

 

The email states that relatives of Malik Riaz and his son Ahmed Ali live in Gulf countries and in the West. "If you want to save these family members life's (sic).......then transfer 50 bitcoins to given bitcoin address otherwise mujahiddi of Tehrik isn't far away from your drawing rooms" the email states. 

 

 

The FIR states that after the threatening email was sent, an unknown person visited the area where Malik Riaz’s daughter resides, which is also the residence where he himself stays, to scout the house.

 

“The individual took photos and videos of the house. Footage has emerged showing a person taking pictures and videos while surveying Malik Riaz’s home, which harassed the household,” it reads.

 

The FIR states that although the email ID appeared to be from Switzerland, however, demanding ransom through a threatening email and scouting the house confirmed that the email was sent from Pakistan.

Following former premier Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi’s conviction in the £190 million case, commonly known as the Al-Qadir Trust case, on January 17, the National Accountability Bureau said in a press release on January 22 that Riaz was an absconder in the same case and they had already frozen a number of his assets.

 

“Mr Malik Riaz is residing in Dubai, UAE. He has recently launched a project for the construction of luxury apartments in Dubai, UAE. The general public at large is hereby advised and warned to refrain from investing in the stated project. If the general public at large invests in the stated project, their actions would tantamount to money laundering, for which they may face criminal/ legal proceedings,” the press release read.

 

Bahria Town owner, in response to the accountability watchdog press release against his Dubai-based project, took to X (formerly Twitter) on the same day, warning, “I am holding back, but there is a storm within me. If this dam breaks, then everyone’s façade will shatter. Don’t forget that the secrets of the past 25–30 years are preserved along with evidence.”

According to sources, NAB had written a letter to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to extradite Riaz to Pakistan.

 

As per a source, the FIA will secure Riaz’s extradition from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and then hand him over to the accountability watchdog.