Court-backed NAB takeover puts Bahria Icon Tower under state control

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday took over Karachi's Bahria Icon Tower after a Rawalpindi accountability court upheld the provisional attachment of the property, marking a major development in the bureau's money laundering investigation involving real estate developer Malik Riaz. As reported by Dawn.

Following the court's order dated July 3, 2026, NAB assumed physical possession of the tower, valued at around Rs100 billion, before transferring its custody and management to the local administration in accordance with legal procedures.

The bureau said its investigation into M/s Galaxy Construction Private Limited and others found that the land acquisition and subsequent construction of the high rise were allegedly financed through proceeds of crime. On that basis, the property was provisionally attached under Section 8 of the Anti Money Laundering Act, 2010. After gathering further evidence linking the asset to alleged money laundering, NAB sought confirmation of the attachment from the accountability court, which approved the request.

Describing the move as an important step in its anti money laundering campaign, the bureau said the attachment would support ongoing efforts to identify, restrain and recover assets allegedly derived from criminal activity while strengthening financial investigations under the law.

The latest action builds on a series of proceedings against Malik Riaz and Bahria Town in recent months. In June, an accountability court issued non bailable arrest warrants for Riaz, his son and others in the Bahria Town Karachi land case before ordering a 15 day freeze on properties across the country later the same month. Earlier, in May, NAB froze four additional high value Bahria Town properties on the court's directions.

According to the bureau, investigators concluded that approximately Rs8 billion in alleged crime proceeds had been channelled into the construction of Bahria Icon Tower in Karachi's Clifton area through M/s Galaxy Construction Pvt Ltd. NAB also attached Bahria Town Tower on Tariq Road after alleging that the project was held in the name of Muhammad Awais, whom it identified as a benami frontman for Malik Riaz Hussain and M/s Bahria Town.

The bureau had previously filed a reference in 2020 against Malik Riaz and others over the alleged illegal allotment of the land on which Bahria Icon Tower was built.