Former president Asif Ali Zardari with his sister, Faryal Talpur. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Judge Arshad Malik heard the high-profile case and adjourned it till May 30.
PPP’s top leadership, Omni Group’s Anwar Majeed and his son Abdul Ghani Majeed, former Pakistan Stock Exchange chairperson Hussain Lawai, Summit Bank Senior Vice-President Taha Raza are among those being investigated in cases related to the fake accounts scandal. The matter is also being heard by the Supreme Court.
The case was transferred to Islamabad after a Karachi banking court accepted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) transfer request filed following the Supreme Court judgment forwarding the joint investigation team (JIT) report to the bureau with directions to investigate and file references.
On Tuesday, the accountability court dismissed post-arrest bail pleas submitted by Lawai and Raza. The single-judge bench was annoyed by the continued absence of suspects imprisoned in Karachi. Abdul Ghani Majeed filed exemption request on medical grounds. “Although production orders were produced but he cannot travel due to health issues,” said his counsel.
NAB Investigating Officer Muhammad Ali Abro informed court that the bureau had written a letter to the chief secretary of Sindh and the superintendent of Malir Jail but neither had responded. “We even suggested air ambulance to transfer the suspects,” he added.
Accountability court summons Zardari, Talpur on April 8
Pre-arrest bail plea
Meanwhile, Zardari has filed yet another pre-arrest bail plea in the Islamabad High Court fearing arrest. In the petition, the former president accuses the anti-graft watchdog of sending “call-up notice” with “mala fide intentions and ulterior motives to detain and arrest” him.
The PPP co-chairman has received interim bail in seven call-up notices so far. This is his eighth petition.
The notice in question pertains to payments worth Rs17 million made in May-June 2015 from illegal proceeds of money have been credited into the accounts of Abdul Nadeem Bhutto, Omni Aviation, Princely Jett and Fazal e Rabbi (Pvt) Ltd. The payments were portrayed as expenses incurred for the Naudero House.
Zardari has sought bail before arrest till final conclusion of the trial and interim bail before arrest until then. He has against sought a list of all cases the bureau is filing against him.
It is pertinent to mention that the anti-corruption unit furnished details of inquiries, investigations and references in the fake accounts case on May 14. In the report, NAB listed down at least eight cases where Zardari’s link had been established. It further added that 22 inquiries and three investigations are underway while three references have been filed.
Names of Zardari, Talpur struck off no-fly list
The fake accounts case history
Information regarding the fake accounts came to the fore when an intelligence agency picked up a prominent money changer in an unrelated case. In December 2015, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) began a discreet investigation into certain bank accounts through which multi-billion rupee transactions have been made.
Investigators have so far identified 29 accounts which received payments, totaling at least Rs35 billion. The probe was initially shelved but resumed almost a year and a half later with FIA’s State Bank circle initiating a formal inquiry in January 2018. By June, the FIA had several high-profile names on its list but was unable to make headway–for several reasons.
It was at his point that the Supreme Court intervened and then chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar took suo motu notice of the ‘slow progress’ in the money-laundering case. In July, Zardari’s close aides Hussain Lawai, Taha Raza and two others were arrested. Subsequently, the first case was registered in the mega-corruption scandal.
The then chief justice ordered the formation of a joint investigation team to quicken the pace of the investigation. The JIT identified 11,500 bank accounts and 924 account holders at the start of their investigation. After the JIT report, the names of 172 individuals were placed on the no-fly list by the interior ministry.
Fake accounts case: Sindh CM Murad to appear before JIT today
The JIT report in a nutshell
According to the report, the JIT identified 11,500 bank accounts and 924 account holders at the start of their investigation.
Its experts generated 59 Suspected Transaction Reports (STR) and 24,500 Cash Transaction Reports. That means the transactions were flagged as suspicious.
It questioned 767 individuals, including Zardari and Talpur, while Bilawal submitted written responses.
The investigations have focused on 32 accounts of 11 fake entities. The first account, belonging to M/S Lucky Enterprises, opened in January 2010 and remained active till January 2017. It was used for 13,809 transactions.
Damning JIT report indicts Zardari, Omni groups
A thorough review of the JIT report shows that representatives of State Bank and Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) played a vital role in the investigation and preparation of the final report and recommendations.
Read the full text of the JIT report here.
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