Financial crime: Top model arrested for ‘money laundering’

Ayyan Ali sent on 14-day remand after customs officials discover $0.5m in her luggage

RAWALPINDI/ KARACHI: Customs officials detained supermodel Ayyan Ali on Saturday for attempting to ship $500,000 out of the country through illegal means. The 21-year-old could face up to 10 years in jail for money laundering.

The model was detained at Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport, said a customs official. She was to travel to Dubai through Emirates Airline flight (EK-615). The Airport Security Force intercepted her and recovered the said amount from her luggage.

Customs officials took action on a tipoff and registered a money laundering case against Ayyan. Later, she was presented before Special Judge Customs Chaudhry Muhammad Hussain, who sent her to Adiala Jail on a 14-day judicial remand.

As per the SBP foreign exchange regulation, a passenger cannot carry more than $10,000 or equivalent notes of another currency out of the country.

“If what they say is true then this lady was trying to take out roughly Rs50 million. That’s no small sum of money,” said Malik Bostan, president of the Forex Association. “There is a global ban on travelling with anything over $10,000. It’s primarily done to curb money laundering. But people who don’t want to disclose the source of their income, really don’t care,” he said.

Bostan said individuals have to seek permission from the central bank to carry an amount above $10,000. “Obviously, the bank asks you to fill in a form and disclose the source of income.”

Over the past year, Ayyan has been travelling frequently to Europe and the UAE where she has been pursuing a career in modelling and music. She has not been a part of a domestic fashion scene since last April.

Sabeen Hasan, who heads the financial crimes division of a multinational bank, said she would be amazed if a person like Ayyan was unaware of foreign exchange regulations. “Being a frequent traveller myself, I know this is something you just have to know after a couple of trips,” she said.

Offshore transactions require account holders not just to go through the bank’s compliance scrutiny but also to pay fees and tax. “In most cases, it’s mostly about tax avoidance.” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 15^th, 2015.