Drop scene of recovery of Rs400m in FIA crackdown

Premier agency tells court owner furnished trail for seized currency

RAWALPINDI:

The incident of recovery of Rs400 million during a raid by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in a private plaza located on Murree Road in Rawalpindi about two months ago had a drop scene on Tuesday as the law enforcement agency told the court that the owner produced money trail for the recovered amount.

In September this year, the FIA confiscated Rs400 million worth of local currency during a raid on a private plaza on Murree Road in Rawalpindi and recovered Rs400 million stored in electronic lockers in the plaza’s basement.

According to the report submitted by the FIA in the Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court, the money belonged to Sheikh Iftikhar Adil and on the production of the money trail by the owner, the FIA declared its raid invalid. Declaring all the recovered money legal, the LHC’s Rawalpindi Bench ordered it to be immediately returned to its original owner.

Sources said despite the money trail being provided by the owner and confirmed by the FIA, the money was not being released to the owners, prompting them to file a writ in the court.

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According to the details, a raid was conducted under section 5(2) of the FIA Act on September 16, after receiving confidential information regarding the presence of a large amount of foreign currency at the office of Sheikh Iftikhar Adil at Burj Noor Plaza on Murree Road. During the raid, Pakistani currency worth Rs400 million was found in the lockers, which was seized under section 5(5) of the FIA Act.

FIA Commercial Banking Circle Deputy Director Jair Nasrani and Inspector Gohar Ali Shah had been unable to put forth any arguments before the court. LHC Judge Justice Mirza Waqas Rauf had instructed Nasrani to seek instructions from the FIA director general and submit a report within 30 minutes. However, the deputy director did not reappear before the court, prompting the judge to summon the FIA DG on November 13.

The DG informed the court that the money trail was verified and the FIA withdrew its notices while the information regarding the presence of foreign currency also turned out to be wrong.

The court ruled in favour of the owner and ordered the release of the seized amount. The court also warned the FIA against carrying out such raids as it might hurt the interest and repute of innocent citizens.

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Background

Earlier, The Express Tribune reported that the owner of cash confiscated during the Rawalpindi raid had provided all the necessary documents to the FIA. He claimed the funds were acquired in exchange for the sale of properties at various locations.

Advocate Inam Farooqi, the lawyer representing the owner, told The Express Tribune over a phone call that within the plaza’s lockers, over Rs400 million were discovered and all documentation about these funds has been presented to the FIA.

He said, the investigation had found no foreign currency during the raid and added that the owner had sold his property at different locations, and the relevant property checks, bank drafts, contracts, and complete money trails were available. He further stated that no FIR had been registered, and no one was taken into custody during the operation, which continued for 12 hours.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2023.