Karachi: In a significant legal development, a federal tribunal has dismissed benami property cases worth billions of rupees against the directors of the Omni Group. The ruling comes as a major relief after years of scrutiny into the company’s financial dealings.
The two-member bench clarified that the Benami Transactions Act of 2017 cannot be applied retroactively to transactions carried out before the law’s enactment, deeming earlier actions legally unsustainable. The tribunal emphasized that attempting to enforce the legislation on past transactions would overstep its legal boundaries.
Additionally, the court noted that assets declared under the 2019 Asset Declaration Ordinance remain protected and cannot be targeted under the Benami Act. Consequently, all previously issued confiscation orders have been reversed, effectively closing a long-running chapter of investigation against the Omni Group.
Legal analysts suggest this ruling could have wider implications for similar cases, reinforcing the principle of non-retroactive application of laws and the protections offered under official amnesty schemes. For the Omni Group, the decision marks a decisive end to years of legal uncertainty.
