FIA contacts Interpol for Moonis’s extradition

Documents show PTI leaders had Rs48.76 crores in eight different bank accounts

LAHORE:

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has approached Interpol for the extradition of PTI leader Moonis Elahi, who has been out of the country for the past many months.  Last week, an accountability court had declared Moonis a proclaimed offender in a corruption case.

According to sources, the FIA on the instruction of the caretaker federal government has shared details of cases filed against the former federal minister with Interpol, which also has started the process of issuing a Red Notice.

Red Notice is issued by Interpol at the request of a member country's national law enforcement authorities. It is essentially an international request to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, based on a valid national arrest warrant or court decision issued by the requesting country.

A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant, but rather a notification alerting law enforcement worldwide about a wanted individual. It serves as a request for cooperation from other member countries to locate and provisionally arrest the person pending extradition.

Read more FIA freezes Moonis' accounts, attaches properties in money laundering case

The decision to arrest the individual ultimately lies with the country where the person is found. The sources said there are precedents of extradition of accused persons and criminals to Pakistan. Meanwhile, authorities have frozen Moonis’s bank accounts and seized his properties in Pakistan in view of a Lahore accountability court’s November 14 order.

According to documents seen by The Express Tribune, authorities have frozen a total of eight bank accounts of Moonis in Lahore. More than Rs48.76 crores were deposited in these accounts. However, this money had been withdrawn prior to the court order.

Six properties of the PTI leader have also been seized. Five of these properties are based in Kasur while one of them is located in Rawalpindi. Authorities claim that Moonis used his bank accounts for money laundering and made that money—Rs48.76 crores—and the properties through graft. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in June 2023 initiated an inquiry against former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi, his son Moonis Elahi, and others over allegations of misuse of authority and receiving illegal gratification and kickbacks.

NAB alleged that the accused during the rule of the PTI party approved schemes under supplementary grants and awarded contracts to their favorite contractors after receiving bribes or kickbacks in sheer violation of rules.