FBR Probes Lavish Lifestyles via Social Media

KARACHI: A lavish wedding featuring diamond sets and a drone light show, costing nearly $1 million, has become key evidence for Pakistan’s tax authorities under the newly established Lifestyle Monitoring Cell, tasked with identifying extravagant spenders via social media.

A 40-member team from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) began probing Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube posts this week, targeting influencers, celebrities, realtors, and businesspeople with disproportionate tax filings.

“It’s open-source intelligence—their Instagram accounts are a public showcase,” a senior FBR official declared, noting that tax evasion cases can be initiated within hours. The FBR did not respond to a Reuters inquiry.

Formed to tackle Pakistan’s persistent failure to meet revenue collection targets and align with stringent International Monetary Fund (IMF)-backed budget goals, the cell addresses the country’s low tax-to-GDP ratio, among Asia’s lowest, with less than 2% of the population paying income tax.

Established this month, the unit’s mandate, per an internal document, is to “systematically monitor, scour, and analyze” social media platforms to pinpoint individuals flaunting wealth who are either unregistered for tax or report income inconsistent with their expenditures and assets.

The cell will compile digital profiles of suspects, evaluate the funds behind their lifestyles, and generate reports for tax or money laundering investigations, maintaining a central database of evidence, including screenshots and timestamps.

Diamonds, Drones, DJs, and Databases

Officials reported that one wedding under scrutiny cost approximately Rs248 million ($878,000), with $283,000 spent on diamond and gold sets and $124,000 on bridal outfits by premier South Asian designers.

Guests entered through floral archways as drones illuminated the sky, enjoying multi-course meals for 400 attendees. The six-day event, choreographed by international consultants and featuring top makeup artists, DJs, and qawwali bands, exemplified the extravagant spending now targeted by authorities.

This wedding is one of several cases under review, with investigators also examining videos of luxury cars, high-end property tours, and influencers showcasing opulent lifestyles.

“People tag event managers, caterers, and jewelers, simplifying our task,” another official stated, noting that the expenditure of the two families involved did not align with their income declarations.

Though recently formed, the unit has already shortlisted multiple files for deeper scrutiny, officials confirmed. Previous efforts to target high earners faltered, but the social media focus offers stronger leads and faster ways to detect undeclared wealth.