Money-laundering case: Sarfaraz Merchant appears before FIA committee

Sources say FIA committee quizzed Merchant for an hour

ISLAMABAD:

One of the key suspects in a money laundering case allegedly involving the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s top leadership, Sarfaraz Merchant, submitted his written statement and shared other evidence with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Monday.

An FIA committee quizzed Merchant for an hour, sources in the FIA said. Merchant, who arrived in Islamabad to record his statement before the FIA committee regarding the money laundering case, will fly to Karachi via a flight of PIA from Islamabad airport, The Express Tribune learnt on Monday.

Sources say the committee was specifically constituted on the directives of Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan to investigate the money-laundering case against the MQM’s top leadership, including its chief Altaf Hussain.

The FIA has also contacted Karachi’s former mayor, Mustafa Kamal, who had alleged in his news conferences that the top MQM leadership had links with RAW.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 5^th, 2016.