Hussain Lawai's physical remand extended till July 14

Taha Raza's remand also extended till July 14

A judicial magistrate on Wednesday extended the physical remand of Zardari's close aide and former Pakistan Stock Exchange chairperson Hussain Lawai and senior vice-president of Summit Bank Taha Raza till July 14, Express News reported.



Lawai, accused of facilitating the opening of 29 ‘fake’ accounts in Summit Bank, Sindh Bank and United Bank Limited to launder money amounting to Rs35 billion, was presented before a magistrate by the investigation team. After submitting an initial inquiry report, the FIA team sought further time to complete the investigation.

During the proceedings, the counsel for Lawai lamented that closure of the bank will lead to unemployment of thousands. “The record of transactions carried out through these accounts had been submitted to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)."



However, FIA maintained that no record was provided since the beginning of the investigation in January 2018. “The record was provided after apex court’s suo motto notice.”

The FIR registered against Lawai and others states that Rs35 billion was deposited into the said fake accounts and subsequently transferred to other beneficiaries, including Pakistan Peoples Party Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur’s company, the Zardari Group.