Three MPs ‘promoted’ a luxury Dubai property development despite the tycoons behind it being banned from the UK following an investigation into bribery and corruption.
Labour MPs Afzal Khan and Naz Shah, plus pro-Gaza independent Ayoub Khan, all attended events aimed at encouraging British-Pakistani investors to buy homes in a new desert city, called Waada, and delivered supportive messages.
Yet, the company promising to develop the sprawling site is run by a mega-wealthy father and son who are wanted in their native Pakistan and banned from entering Britain following a ‘dirty money’ probe.
In 2019 Malik Riaz Hussain and Ali Riaz Malik were subject to the largest asset recovery settlement ever recorded by the National Crime Agency, agreeing to forfeit £140million in cash plus a Knightsbridge home worth £50million.
The settlement was reached after the agency – dubbed Britain’s FBI – used its asset-freezing powers amid an investigation by the Pakistani authorities into alleged corruption involving their gated housing firm Bahria Town.
While there are no rules preventing MPs promoting property investments, the backbenchers face questions about their judgement in conferring legitimacy and giving valuable publicity to a project backed by allegedly corrupt businessmen who are banned from the UK.
For his part, Afzal Khan insists he did not endorse or promote the project, while Ms Shah said she was invited to many such events.
Ayoub Khan said he was unaware of ‘any historical impropriety’ involving the tycoons and had asked for his name to be removed from promotional material.
The proposed mini-city in the Dubai desert would house 40,000 people in flats, villas, mansions and a five-star hotel surrounded by landscaped gardens and lagoons
Naz Shah, Labour MP for Bradford West (pictured right), attending a gala event in Mayfair in June 2025 aimed at attracting investors to the development
As they battle the Pakistani authorities, Mr Hussain – once ranked the country’s fourth richest man – and his son are now seeking investors for the ambitious development in the desert of south Dubai.
According to their firm, Waada would one day house 40,000 people in flats, villas, mansions and a five-star hotel surrounded by landscaped gardens and lagoons, with a scale model of the Eiffel Tower as its centrepiece.
The trio of MPs all attended promotional events organised by the pair – who have always protested their innocence – aimed at investors from the British-Pakistani community in June 2025, the Sunday Times revealed today.
First Afzal Khan, Labour MP for Rusholme and a member of Parliament’s Joint Human Rights Committee, was a ‘distinguished guest’ at an event in Stockport where he gave interviews praising the proposed city’s strategic location.
He was later sacked as UK trade envoy to Turkey after the Daily Mail revealed how he had caused a diplomatic spat with an unauthorised trip to northern Cyprus.
Then Ayoub Khan, independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, was ‘guest of honour’ at a roadshow in the West Midlands.
Pointing out that Waada was Urdu for ‘promise’, he recorded a video hailing the developers’ ‘track record’ in construction and saying they were ‘looking at making affordable properties in Dubai’.
Finally Naz Shah, Labour MP for Bradford West, was an ‘esteemed guest’ at a gala in Mayfair.
She heaped praise on the firm’s ‘successful reputation in Pakistan’, adding: ‘If they can deliver in Dubai, many people, not just Pakistanis, will be looking towards it.’
Tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain (seated) and his son Ali Riaz Malik are banned from entering the UK following a probe into ‘dirty money’ allegations
Ayoub Khan, independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr (pictured at a pro-Palestine rally) was ‘guest of honour’ at a roadshow in the West Midlands
Afzal Khan, Labour MP for Rusholme, gave interviews praising the proposed city’s strategic location
The attendance of the three MPs was subsequently highlighted on Bahria Town’s website and social media.
As they are unable to travel to the UK over what a senior judge said in 2021 was this country’s ‘commitment to combat corruption and financial crime’, the father and son behind the project instead delivered video messages at the events.
Mr Hussain, 72, is described on the Bahria Town website as ‘a man larger than life and a legend for all times to come’.
But in 2019 he and his family agreed to forfeit £140million held in nine UK bank accounts and the value of the 16,000 sq ft Knightsbridge home with views over Hyde Park after the NCA investigation.
However, after being passed to the Pakistani government, the money was allegedly then illicitly used by the country’s then PM, former cricketer Imran Khan, to pay off Mr Hussain’s debts.
The former leader was later jailed for 14 years over the alleged deal but continues to protest his innocence.
Meanwhil, both Mr Hussain and his son are subject to investigations into alleged corruption and money laundering by the Pakistani authorities – allegations he has branded ‘blackmail’ and politically motivated.
Afzal Khan told the Sunday Times he attended the event ‘briefly after being invited by a local business person, not the organisers’.
He added: ‘I did not address the room, endorse the company or promote the project.
‘I have not invested in the project, and neither I nor my family have received any gifts or inducements.’
In a statement to the paper, Ayoub Khan said that at the time he attended the event he had ‘no prior knowledge of any historical impropriety associated with the project’s owners, nor did I know who they were’.
He added: ‘I did not encourage constituents to personally invest in the initiative and I certainly did not exercise my status to any such end: any attempts to imply otherwise are simply disingenuous and misinformed.
‘On the contrary, I made it clear that I would seek assurances by meeting stakeholders due to concerns about investments abroad.’
Ayoub Khan said he had written to Bahria Town ‘requesting the immediate removal of all references to me from their public platforms’.
Additionally, he said he was not an investor in the project and had had no engagement with it since his appearance.
A spokesman for Ms Shah told the Sunday Times: ‘Naz gets invited to attend many events by her constituents that relate to their Pakistani heritage and this was one of those events.’
All three have been approached for comment, along with Bahria Town.
