Portugal property scandal sparks outcry over Pakistani bureaucrats’ offshore assets

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has triggered controversy with a claim that more than half of the country’s top bureaucrats have acquired property in Portugal, allegedly in a bid to gain foreign citizenship and move wealth abroad.

In a late-night post on X, formerly Twitter, Asif said these officials are “well-known crocodiles” who have “eaten up billions” and now enjoy luxurious post-retirement lives in Europe. He accused them of undermining Pakistan’s economy while seeking safe havens for their assets.

Kamran Khan amplified the minister’s revelations in his latest vlog, calling it the “Portugal scandal.” Citing data and historical trends, Khan said that while Asif’s post focused on bureaucrats, the issue is far more widespread — involving at least 20,000 Pakistanis who moved nearly $10 billion into Portugal’s real estate sector over the last decade.

From 2020 to 2023, Portugal offered a golden visa scheme that allowed foreigners to gain citizenship through property investment worth at least 500,000 euros. Only seven days of annual presence were required, and citizenship was granted after five years, giving visa-free access to over 180 countries. Although the program ended in 2023, thousands of Pakistanis reportedly took advantage of it.

“Perhaps large portions of this money were black,” Kamran Khan alleged, citing Pakistan’s long history of offshore wealth accumulation.

The scandal comes amid broader concerns about capital flight from Pakistan. In early 2025, official figures showed that Pakistanis own $12.5 billion worth of property in Dubai alone, making them the second-largest foreign investors in the UAE’s real estate market.

Portugal, along with other countries such as Australia, Malta, Cyprus, and New Zealand, has become a preferred destination for wealthy Pakistanis seeking citizenship or long-term residency in exchange for investments.

The reasons, Khan said, are clear: political instability, shifting economic policies, over-taxation, and a lack of legal safeguards for investors in Pakistan.

This isn’t the first time Pakistanis’ foreign assets have stirred debate. From the 2016 Panama Papers to the Bahamas and Paradise Leaks, dozens of politicians, judges, and business leaders have been implicated in offshore holdings.

Yet, beyond former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, no major legal actions followed. In fact, successive governments introduced amnesty schemes to bring undocumented foreign assets into the tax net. From 1958 to 2019, Pakistan offered at least 11 such schemes, including ones under Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s PML-N government and Imran Khan’s PTI administration.

However, trust in the system eroded when, in 2022, the PDM-led government imposed fresh taxes even on previously declared sovereign assets — despite taxpayers having already fulfilled their obligations.

Khan reminded viewers that in 2016, Pakistan signed a data-sharing agreement with the OECD, giving authorities access to banking and asset details of Pakistanis across 128 countries. By 2018, the FBR had received data on over 152,000 offshore accounts. “But no serious investigations were ever launched,” Khan said.

According to the European Union Tax Observatory, Pakistani citizens hold at least $19.2 billion in offshore assets — including $11.2 billion in real estate and $8 billion in shares, cash, and investments.

Kamran Khan urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take immediate action following Asif’s claims. He proposed the formation of a joint investigation team — including the ISI, FIA, and NAB — to travel to Portugal and trace these real estate transactions.

“This isn’t a simple matter,” Khan warned. “It’s a gigantic scandal involving the outflow of billions in black money to Europe.”