Altaf charged with funding terror, money laundering

Interim charge-sheet shows MQM founder as absconder

KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Tuesday submitted an interim charge-sheet against Muttahida Qaumi Movement founder Altaf Hussain before the administrative judge of the Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs), accusing him of terror financing and money laundering.

FIA’s State Bank Circle booked Hussain and others earlier this month on the complaint of UK-based businessman Sarfaraz Merchant. The FIA had named MQM’s Senator Babar Ghauri, Karachi Deputy Mayor Arshad Vohra, Khawaja Sohail, Khawaja Rehan and Senator Ahmed Ali as co-accused.

Investigating Officer (IO) Mohammad Ali Abro filed the interim investigation report on Tuesday. He named the MQM founder as absconder. However, the charge-sheet does not mention the residential addresses of the absconding accused.



The charge-sheet is also silent about the co-accused who are neither named in the charge-sheet nor shown as exonerated of charges. After admitting the interim report, the administrative judge of the ATCs sent the case to ATC-II for formal trial.

The FIA said the co-accused sent money to the MQM founder through the Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation (KKF), the party’s charity wing. It said the KKF was used as a source of illegal money transfer to Hussain, who also received Indian funding for financing terror in Karachi.

According to the charges filed, Hussain, along with others, committed money laundering while acting against the integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan and creating chaos and terrorism aimed at the country’s disintegration.