Daily Times

KARACHI: The State Bank Circle of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Monday got registered a case against Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London (MQM-L) chief Altaf Hussain and five of his party members, including Babar Khan Ghauri, Karachi Deputy Mayor Arshad Vohra, for “illegally transferring and misusing funds received by the Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation (KKF)”, a charity wing of the MQM-L.

The FIR, registered under the sections of the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Anti Terrorism Act, was lodged on a written complaint of a prominent Pakistani businessman Sarfaraz Merchant.

It was alleged in the FIR that the MQM-L was a foreign-funded political party, which received funds from Indian elements.

“Funds of KKF were misused and illegally transferred to 18 banks accounts in the United Kingdom, which were used for terror-related activities,” according to content of the FIR.

It was said in the FIR that four bank accounts of the KKF were used where illegally gained funds were deposited and then transferred to five personal and four company’s banks accounts on various occasions.

“The bank accounts were owned by Senator Babar Ghauri, Karachi Deputy Mayor Arshad Vohra, Khawaja Suhail, Khawaja Rehan and Senator Ahmed Ali while the companies’ accounts were related to Friends Construction Syndicate (owned by a MQM senator) M/S Knitwear (owned by Senator Ahmed Ali), Kolachi International (owned by Khawaja Suhail Mansoor) and M/S Media Marketing Activation,” the FIR said.

“These funds after being transferred from the KKF’s accounts were further transferred to 18 bank accounts in UK via bank to bank transactions.”

FIA officials following the registration of the FIR had initiated further investigations against Senator Babar Ghauri, Karachi Deputy Mayor Arshad Vohra, Khawaja Suhail, Khawaja Rehan and Senator Ahmed Ali.

Earlier citing “absence of adequate evidence”, the Scotland Yard had cleared Hussain in 2016 in a money laundering case lodged against him in the United Kingdom.

“Funds comprising billions of rupees had been collected by the MQM-L from Karachi during the last two decades under the head of zakat, fitra, khairat (charity), which were laundered to the UK by unidentified bank accounts, which were being investigated by the agency to find out any roll of banks officials,” according to the FIR.

Published in Daily Times, October 3^rd 2017.