The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has registered a major tax evasion case against the Chief Executive Officer of GO Petroleum and several other individuals over the alleged illegal sale of bonded petroleum products, a scam that reportedly caused losses worth billions of rupees to Pakistan’s national treasury.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the FIA’s Corporate Crime Circle in Karachi, the accused allegedly diverted bonded petroleum products into the local market without completing mandatory customs procedures or paying customs duties, taxes, and petroleum levy.
Under Pakistani law, bonded petroleum products remain under customs control and cannot be sold or used until all legal requirements are fulfilled and government charges are paid. Investigators claim that the fuel was transported from Port Qasim to Mehmoodkot through the White Oil Pipeline and the PARCO pipeline network while it was still officially under bond.
FIA LAUNCHES HIGH TECH IMMIGRATION SYSTEM AT SIALKOT AIRPORT TO BOOST SECURITY & EFFICIENCY
The FIA has alleged that company officials manipulated official records and used forged documents to conceal the illegal transactions and facilitate the sale of fuel in the domestic market.
The case names seven individuals and two companies, including GO Petroleum CEO Khalid Riaz and Terminal One CEO Fiaz Ahmed. They have been booked under various sections of the Customs Act, 1969, the Pakistan Penal Code, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
Investigators are now examining financial records, import documents, and related transactions to determine the full scale of the alleged fraud and calculate the total financial loss suffered by the national exchequer.
The FIA is also investigating the possible involvement of officials from Customs, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), and other government departments. Authorities stated that the investigation has been expanded, and more individuals from both the public and private sectors may be included if further evidence emerges.
The case is one of the largest ongoing investigations into alleged tax evasion and petroleum sector fraud in Pakistan.
