Money laundering case: Order reserved on Ayyan Ali’s plea against ECL placement

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) reserved on Wednesday its order on a petition by model Ayyan Ali against the placement of her name on the exit control list (ECL).

Headed by Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh, the division bench reserved its verdict after hearing arguments from the federal law officer and her lawyer. Ali, who was arrested over alleged currency smuggling, had moved the high court against the ban on her movement outside the country.

Ali's lawyer, Sardar Latif Khosa, argued that restricting his client's movement abroad showed ill intentions on the part of the federal agencies. Khosa informed the court that the Federal Board of Revenue's director-general for intelligence and investigation had filed an application with the special judge of the Rawalpindi Customs Court to inquire into the source of income of the petitioner, who was contesting it in court, as the money admittedly belonged to her and is not proceeds of any crime, which is the essence for bringing a case within the ambit of money laundering. The lawyer claimed that there is no incriminating material available against the model to show that she had acted against the security of the country, adding that mere pendency of any civil or criminal case against any citizen does not make grounds to restrict movement.

However, the interior ministry said the petitioner's name was put on the ECL at the request of Customs authorities. The ministry said, since a case related to money laundering is pending, she cannot be allowed to leave the country. The Customs authorities also made similar claims.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 18^th,  2016.