ISLAMABAD/HEATHROW: A day after his party denied that Imran Khan owned a London flat through an offshore company, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman himself admitted he formed an offshore company to buy the London flat in 1983 to evade British taxes.
Speaking to reporters at London’s Heathrow Airport, Khan said he formed the offshore firm on the advice of his accountant to evade taxes during his playing days to buy a flat in London.
“I was already paying 35 per cent tax on my income there, so to evade further taxes, I bought the flat through an offshore firm, which was my right as I was not a British citizen,” Khan told the reporters.
Maryam Nawaz also took a jibe at Khan on twitter after the PTI chief admitted of owning an offshore company.
Meanwhile, PTI spokesperson Naeemul Haq admitted that his party chief had formed a ‘legal’ offshore company through his earnings from cricket, which owned his London flat.
Speaking on a TV programme, Haq took back his earlier denial.
“I was Khan’s bank manager in London at that time, his accountants formed this company to buy the London flat,” said the PTI spokesman.
He added that when the flat was sold, Khan brought the money to Pakistan through Habib Bank. Answering a question about Khan’s tax returns and this offshore firm, Haq said that he would “reveal the details to the media on Saturday after talking to Khan’s accountant”.
