ISLAMABAD  -  The federal government on Thursday blocked passports of property tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain and his son Ali Riaz for their alleged role in £190 million corruption case.

The two other individuals whose passports were blocked in the same case include former adviser to the prime minister on accountability Barrister Shahzad Akbar and Farhat Shahzadi, also known as Farah Gogi, a close friend of former prime minister Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi.

The step was taken against four individuals who are accused in £190 million scam involving Al-Qadir Trust, on the request of the National Accountability Bureau NAB), the official sources in the Ministry of Interior confirmed on Thursday.

The decision can be surprising for many as all these four individuals are already abroad, either in UK or in the Gulf states. The passport of any individual is usually blocked to stop him from travelling abroad from home country.

The development comes days after ex-premier Khan and his spouse Bibi were convicted in the Al-Qadir Trust Case. The court awarded 14 years jail term to the PTI founder and a seven-year sentence was handed down to former first lady.

Malik Riaz is currently residing in the UAE, where he plans to develop a luxury housing project in Dubai.

The NAB has already warned citizens against investing in this project, saying it would be considered ‘money laundering’ by the government.

Farah Gogi had left for Dubai in 2022 days before the ouster of Khan through a parliamentary vote of no confidence, sensing that she is under the scanner of the country’s anti-corruption watchdogs.

Barrister Akbar had left for UK in April 2022 after his name was removed from the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) ‘stop list’ on the orders of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).