Daily Times

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), on Monday, submitted all documents before an accountability court in Islamabad in connection with the mega money laundering case.

The submitted documents have revealed that the agency has arrested six suspects, including Aslam Masood, so far while 50 others remain in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

In another development in the case, a banking court in Karachi, on Friday, granted NAB’s earlier request and ordered the fake bank accounts and mega money laundering case to be transferred to Islamabad. The court also cancelled interim bail of the 19 suspects in the case. The verdict, which was reserved earlier this month, also ordered authorities to return surety money to the suspects, thus cancelling their interim bail.

In the light of the court’s directives, the bureau has summoned former president, Asif Ali Zardari, and Pakistan Peoples Party chairperson, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, to Rawalpindi office on March 20.

It is being said that the two will be handed over a questionnaire of 100 questions in connection with the Park Lane Estate case. Members of a joint investigation team (JIT) would also inquire them regarding accusations over Park Lane Estate Company (Pvt) Ltd, a real estate firm in Karachi, co-owned by the father-son duo.

NAB claims that Zardari had acquired the company illegally through a front man, Iqbal Memon, in 1989.

In 2009, Zardari and Bilawal each claimed 25 per cent shares of the company. Zardari is said to have the authority to use the company accounts at his discretion in the capacity of the firm’s director.

Billions of rupees were allegedly transferred to the company’s accounts via fake bank accounts while the company documents dating back to the year 2008 show Zardari’s signatures as the director. The company also took out loans to the tune of billions from banks.

The banking court had also issued transfer orders for the case of Masood, chief financial officer of Omni Group.

On Saturday, Zardari and his sister, Faryal Talpur, filed a petition in the Sindh High Court (SHC) against the banking court’s decision to transfer the case from Karachi to Rawalpindi. Seeking annulment of the banking court’s decision, Zardari and Talpur termed the move “illegal”.

The petition had stated, “The banking court has shifted money laundering case to Islamabad. This case cannot be moved to Islamabad since it is beyond the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) range of authority.”

“It is not a corruption case. Moving it to another province other than Sindh is illegal. Therefore, banking court’s decision of shifting the case to another city should be outlawed”, it maintained.

Anwar Majeed and his son Ghani Majeed also filed two petitions in SHC in this regard on Monday through their counsel, Jamshed.

It is likely that SHC would hear on all filed petitions on Tuesday.

The accountability court in Islamabad has, however, returned the bureau’s reference against Zardari, Talpur and others accused with objections on Monday.

Sources have relayed that the accountability watchdog had transferred the case documents to Rawalpindi in a hastily and disorganised manner. Certain parts of the case documents and the reference were also said to be incomplete.

Therefore, the accountability court registrar instructed the anti-graft body to refile the reference.

In the meantime, NAB Rawalpindi has arrested former Karachi Development Authority director, Najam Zaman; and ex-director of the Special Initiative Department, Has san Ali Memon over allegations of illegally awarding contracts.

To date, the FIA is investigating as many as 32 people in connection with money laundering using fake accounts. Zardari’s close aide Hussain Lawai was arrested last July as a part of the investigation.

Last August, another of Zardari’s right-hand men and Omni Group chairperson, Anwar Majeed, and his son, Abdul Ghani, were also arrested by the agency.

Sources have relayed that the FIA investigation has uncovered over 20 ‘benami’ accounts at some private banks, opened in 2013, 2014 and 2015, to make transactions worth billions of rupees.

The amount is being said to be black money gathered from a number of kickbacks, commissions and bribes.

Published in Daily Times, March 19^th 2019.