Dubious deals: Couple to be tried under AMLA

LAHORE:

Lahore High Court was informed on Monday that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had decided to prosecute Future Concern’s owner Asim Malik and his wife Zobia Rubab under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA).

FIA Director Usman Anwar told Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi who was hearing petitions filed by various people against Asim Malik for allegedly swindling money from them by promising to send them abroad.

The director said the accused had 56 accounts with banks, according to National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).

He said efforts were being made for dismissal of Asim Malik’s application for political asylum in the United Kingdom. He said the agency was in contact with UK High Commission in this regard.

He said the agency had sealed Malik’s house in Islamabad.

He said his property in Sargodha had not been sold due to a low prices it fetched in bidding. He said the auction had been postponed for a week.

The petitioners told the court that Malik’s relatives were influencing the auction process. The court adjourned the hearing  for the case till November 24.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2014.